Background Music for Movies

Life is better with background music.  Here's a list of my review of music I like:

• http://listen.takenobumusic.com/album/momotaro - Whimsical cello music
• freestockmusic.com - beware which email address you register with- they send lots of e-mails

Choosing a Topic - with BYU Specialist

Today I got to meet with a BYU Specialist in Educational Research, Rachel Wadham, to consider some important questions to ask when selecting a topic.  While these questions seemed basic to her, to me they were refreshing and helpful:

1. You need a context for the learning.

• Is it a talent or a skill? Is it a particular subject? What are they learning? 
• Different kinds of learning means there are different forces at work.

2. You need to choose WHO you're studying.

• Who are you getting information about? Professors? Students?
• Different people will have different applications - motivations, attitudes, etc.

3. When/Where is the learning/phenomenon taking place?

• In the classroom? During homework? Taking Tests? 
• Does it happen independently? is it guided?
• Morning? Night?
• Where in the life of the individual is the phenomenon taking place? Beginning of school? End of School?

4.  WHY- Application.

• Why is the learning happening? For the grade? 
• Why are you doing this study?
• Why is this study significant to talk about?
• Why is this study important?
• If there's no reason to know the answer, why do it?
• The answers need both a nebulous and a practical side. 
• To advocate a pedagogy/promote ________.
• To know more about ______ so we can ______. 
• Why is it important/interesting to you?

5. How- How this all goes on.

• How is the homework assigned? How does the teacher grade the homework?
• How to go about finding answers? Data? Quantitative? Qualitative?
• Gather, organize, answer questions, design elements, etc.

Finally, PICK SOMETHING AND MOVE ON.  After a brainstorm, rate options by:

• Convenience - What data already exists? what's available to you? Do you already have connections/information?
• Passion

Then take top two of each category to your chair, select one, and MOVE ON! Don't wallow in this exploration phase for more than two weeks!

BYU IT Training

Here is some free training on how to use Adobe Captivate, provided by BYU:

http://train.byu.edu/?q=captivate

And here's a link for other courses, including several Adobe products, and mac vs. pc basics.

http://train.byu.edu

So What?

In my descriptive, qualitative research, my committee member brought to my attention that I have no new insights - my "findings" are things that are already known or obvious.  To have a research study without a claim is like having a car without a motor-- it might look pretty, but it doesn't DO anything.

Future Research - Questions and Topics

Topics of Interest

Children

• BYU Music Preschool - What is the framework, how does it work, how could it be replicated online? (or on an app)
• How do children learn music around the world? How is it different? How is it similar?

 Higher Education

• Options for Conceptualizing Research in Education

Continuing Education

• How education affects a person's well-being/health
• Why do people keep learning? (enrolling in classes, professional dev., etc.)
• Why do kids think learning is good?

Special Needs

• Music Education for Special needs
• Improving the Quality of Life for Adults with Special Needs 
• How do adults with special needs contribute to society?

Technology

• Using Media for Social Change

Instructional Design

• Immediate Feedback to improve performance
• Culture Transfer Methods (Roger Connors, Tom Smith)

General

• Music in the Home
• Education of Women, Motherhood, Womanhood

Human Resources/Management

• Working from Home - Best Methods 
• Working as a team from Home