ePlatforms
My work
I work as a music teacher in three community colleges and one music school. I have many students in a week, and I travel to different workplaces, so I don´t do everything in one place or classroom. Digital platforms easier the work because I can keep many things in my phone and computer with me.
Hellewi
Hellewi is in everyday use because our student logs are there and other information that we need for our work. We keep record for the classes that we teach and what we do in those classes and how many students were present. I have mobile application in my phone and website in computer, so I can-do real-time update. Before this we use pen and paper, and we send it or delivered signed to the office after each semester. Now we have digital signatures for logs and contracts.
I have to stay connected with students and workplace, so WhatsApp is free of charge to doing that. Only problem with this is safety and it blurs time between work and free time. I try to limit work communication to email and Teams, so WhatsApp is for only for things that need fast reply. WhatsApp is in use in normal life too and many of people I know don´t send regular text messages anymore who are using this app. Good thing is it free and easy to use.
YouTube
I teach music so I have to listen to it from YouTube or other service. YouTube is great for that I can make playlist for example for the choir and keep track of what we have been singing. Only problem is with commercials, so I have to use YouTube Premium. This make some costs, but it cheaper than by physical copies for all the songs that I need.
Spotify
Spotify is in use with YouTube. I have Spotify Premium, because I use it regularly. Besides songs and listen to podcasts that relate in my field of profession. Spotify is fast and easy to use, so it is good in my work life.
Teams
Teams is for meetings and information sharing. I do not use this every week, because my work life is mainly doing it by myself with the students. We used Teams more when Covid hit and we have to do more work remotely, but now we do more live and hybrid meetings. We share some information from Teams, because we have to keep data protected and this is safe choise.
Other platforms
I have been teaching via Skype and Open badges (https://openbadgepassport.com/) are coming to our field. I haven´t been using TikTok or Instagram in my work, but maybe in the future. I only have personal profile and I do not have professional account yet. For professional use a use LinkedIn and I keep it updated all the time. For storage space I use Google Drive. I have Dropbox, but it is full and I no not want to pay for extra storage space.
New tools for work
There are many new tools, that can be used for work. I chose five tools, that brings something new, and which are available to many students. On my field one of the most important is short videos about songs and exercises, because learning material is usually on paper.
- Open Badges: For course where you can get 1 ECTS (27 hours of learning). https://openbadges.org/
- TikTok: Short videos about music and some clips of exercises. https://www.tiktok.com/en/
- Vimeo: Videos for students to learn at home or homework. https://vimeo.com/
- Doodle: For scheduling. https://doodle.com/en/
- Issuu: For written learning material. https://issuu.com/
Self-evaluation
I am good in the platforms that I am using. There are still many other platforms that need to be learned and used effectively. AI is coming to work life, so I have to learn new skills. ChatGPT is new thing for me, and I have been exploring it recently.
Negative sides with ePlatforms and work is how to keep free time free. At home I have work applications on my phone and computer, so work is not physically limited to workplace. It is good and bad thing. It is good for that I don’t have to travel to workplace to do some little thing, example make notes from the previous class, and I can do that on my phone almost everywhere.
Many platforms make work easier, but what is the cost for that? Some are free and some takes extra money (that I have to usually pay myself). I don´t need physical CD: s or cassette tapes anymore and I have everything in digital form.