While this is technically the fourth in the series of short posts about technology tools, it wasn’t my intended topic for the week! However, given the current events and everything going on with #COVID19, this seems to be the most relevant. Teaching in a brand new school this year and starting a band program from…
Welcome to the second in a series of short posts about technology tools I have been using recently! Last week I wrote about using Google Keep to organize conference resources. This week I’ll introduce you to my new favorite curation tools, Wakelet. I first learned about Wakelet about a year ago. In its simplest form,…
Welcome to the first in a series of short posts about technology tools I have been using recently. This particular tool helps immensely with organization! Before winter break, I had the privilege of attending the Virginia Music Educator’s Association Conference and the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. These are events I look forward to every…
It’s hard to believe we are almost two weeks into 2020! The past year has been a whirlwind. There were several awesome professional opportunities, including a new job, my experience at the Google Innovator Academy and two exciting projects that will be released in 2020. There were also some challenging personal events that led to…
It’s that time of year where many band directors are gearing up for winter or holiday concerts. We have a single track focus, making sure that everything is *just right* before putting it in front of an audience. But then the concert is over and the panic of, “what do I do now?!?” often sets…
I read an interesting article recently about listening. It wasn’t intended for music teachers, but it resonated with me for a lot of reasons. The author, A.J. Juliani, talked about how even though we may listen to something with a purpose, we often still miss things. What one person hears, another may miss. We all…
This post is a few months overdue, but as the sayings go, “better late than never” and “better published than perfect!” Previously, I wrote about a new (to me) method I was incorporating with my beginning band and orchestra students, Conversational Solfege. The Conversational Solfege method is based on the concept, sound before sight. Students…
This post was updated August 2020 Flipgrid is one tech tool I can’t imagine teaching without. As an instrumental music teacher, I have found countless ways to use Flipgrid in my classroom. Each year Flipgrid comes out with new updates that make this tool even more powerful and fun to use. This post will cover…
I hope those of you who follow this blog are not tired of hearing about the Google Innovator Academy. It was easily the highlight of my professional career! The lessons I learned and friendships I made are some that will stay with me for a lifetime. That’s why it’s so easy and enjoyable to write…
As a music teacher, have you ever considered attending the ISTE conference? ISTE stands for the International Society for Technology in Education. While I have attended my state technology conference several times, this was my first time at ISTE. It did not disappoint! Held at the Philadelphia Convention Center, the conference boasted 1,900 sessions and…