NEWSROOM

Unleash Your Stories – Jono Howan

Jono Howan is a graduate student working towards a Diploma of Teaching in music for secondary schools. In his placement at a school in Auckland, Jono became aware that the time he spent drawing a series of musical notes on the board hindered the progress of the class, causing students to become disengaged. Likewise, he noticed that when he asked students to draw their answers on the board, other students would lose focus and become distracted.

Jono’s story

Jono set out to solve this problem, aiming to develop a method that would be convenient and efficient, and would not affect the momentum of his classes. Working in the Maker Space, he designed and developed a full set of laser-cut magnetic notation symbols to be placed on the classroom whiteboard. The items have been named ‘Magnotes’ by his students and himself. He has also made a box organiser with several slots and engraved labels to store the Magnotes. Jono uses the Magnotes in a sequence for students to clap the rhythm. He also runs competitive games in which he claps a rhythm and two students will race to arrange the Magnotes into the correct rhythm on the board. These lessons are particularly helpful to students that learn best by doing (kinesthetic learning). 

Having only attended his training on the laser cutter three weeks prior at the Maker Space, Jono relied on the assistance of the creative technologists (CTs) at Unleash Space to help his project come to life. 

The Magnotes are very effective for the purpose Jono intended for them. They are easy to incorporate into his teaching, and have enhanced his lessons. Jono is now considering commercialising his product in New Zealand, due to its ability to cater to students that benefit from kinesthetic lessons.