I work as a singing teacher at Ylä-Savo music college. The digital tools I use in my work are more or less related to making, expressing and sharing music.
I use GarageBand the most for making music quickly. Keyboards can be controlled with Yamaha’s own mobile applications. The use of both programs is facilitated by the possibility of connecting an iPad and an electric piano.
On the computer I use the Audacity program to record music. An invaluable tool is the music writing program Musescore. Other mobile applications related to making and teaching music that I use are: PlayScore 2, Chord ai, Maestro, Mussila Music, Spotify and YouTube.
In the work community, information is exchanged via WhatsApp. Meetings are held and memos and files are shared centrally via Microsoft Teams.
FIVE DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS AND HOW TO USE THESE AT MY DAILY WORK
The five different social media I picked to match the assignment are Evernote, WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. I chose these five because they are to some extent already familiar to me. Also when I got to know a few other social media platforms, I didn’t feel that they would be useful in my everyday work.
Within the work community, for example, when planning and managing a specific project or concert, Evernote is a good tool. With it you can easily create and edit notes and develop ideas among the team. WhatsApp is a communication channel between the work community and with students. Through that, other information is also shared, for example sheet music. YouTube can sometimes be part of the teaching situation for a lesson. In many cases, background music for the student is also taken from there. Then as a teacher I can focus more on the student when I don’t have to play the music myself. If filming permission has been obtained from the student, I have also recorded presentations and level performances, which I have then shared encrypted on YouTube for viewing and evaluation. The two most popular social media in terms of information and visibility of the Music College are Facebook and Instagram. They present versatile concert activities and inform about the events.
Using social media has its pros and cons. Today, staying connected to the community and maintaining social relationships requires at least some form of social media. Platforms where people share pictures and information about themselves or their loved ones also pose clear threats. You should take a critical approach to sharing information and think carefully about what pictures you want to put online. It is difficult to completely remove information once posted online. We always leave some kind of digital footprint about ourselves. The threats are aimed at account hijacking and abuse. Identity theft is unfortunately common, and we can’t always be completely sure if we’re communicating with the right person. Our digital footprint also exposes us to potential extortion. Bullying and doxing are unfortunately common on social media forums.
The benefits of social media are strong. Communication is fast and global, social media serves as an inspiration for many, and for companies it is important in terms of brand visibility.
It is clear that the ways and meaning of social media will deepen and change even more in the future. Artificial intelligence brings a new dimension and social media communication methods have come to change our society permanently. Social media with its countless different platforms and tools is essential for business and brand visibility. Today, many people and people known from the public act as so-called influencers as social media diversify the opportunities to influence and act as brand ambassadors for companies.
I hope that what we want to show about ourselves and what we want our life to look like on social media does not define who we really are.
SELF EVALUATION
I am very lazy at using social media. I communicate a lot via WhatsApp and Messenger. I have a Facebook profile, but I last used it three years ago.
I feel that my own reluctant use of social media comes from the unpleasant effects of social media. I want to be more in contact with people in real life. I’m not interested in reading updates that aren’t necessarily true, or seeing polished pictures of celebrities’ glamorous lives.
I understand that I should be more present on social media and use its various services and tools. For me, visibility and networking would be important, especially from a professional point of view. In addition to teaching, I am a freelance singer and my marketing and visibility on social media would be important due to this.
Perhaps with this assignment and getting to know the different platforms and tools of social media in a versatile way, I will make them a more active part of my own work life.