This article was originally published in The Woman Conductor Journal, June 2021 issue. For many, summer is a time for rest and rejuvenation. The schedule slows, the days are longer, and the commitments are less frequent. However, summer is also a great time to dig into new tech tools you may not have explored before. Or dive…
This article was originally published in The Woman Conductor Journal, March 2021 issue. While the focus is on band rehearsals, the strategies described will work in nearly any music class or rehearsal. Technology integration is something that many band directors are aware of but are still unsure how to achieve. Especially since the goal in…
The last twelve months have introduced music educators to a plethora of tech tools we may not have considered using before. Video conferencing became a necessity, unlike we had experienced before. Prior to 2020, we never would have considered holding a birthday party or attending a professional conference over zoom, let alone a music class!…
Each December I like to look back at the blog to reflect on the year. Which posts were the most read? When was I most consistent in publishing? Were there any noticeable themes? Given the events of the year, it’s no surprise that a big focus was technology and almost all blog posts incorporated that…
As a band director, I love studying new pieces of music. It was one of my favorite things while working towards my master’s degree in instrumental wind conducting. I enjoy digging into a new piece to discover its nuances and details. Dedicating time to score study increases my capacity to teach the piece to my…
It’s almost October and many teachers are settling into a routine at school, be it virtual, face to face, or some variation in between. Given this routine, now may be the perfect time to take your current tech practices to the next level. Whether adding a new tool to your toolbox or simply increasing functionality…
Google Slides remains to be one of my favorite of the G Suite tools. It is so versatile and can be used for a variety of purposes. This post continues my series on back-to-school tech tools. There are endless uses for Google Slides when teaching music! Many of them were discussed in my previous post,…
With the quick transition to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, many music educators found themselves needing a “crash course” in technology. Being savvy, forward-thinking educators, they made it happen one Google search, Seesaw post, and virtual classroom at a time. Now that we’ve returned to the classrooms and have had some time to breathe,…
I’ve always enjoyed creating digital resources, and now, teaching remotely, it is even more important. While this post isn’t directly teaching related, hopefully it will be useful when creating things for your classes. The following four tools are ones that I can’t live without when it comes to designing digital media. In fact, I imagine…
Over the last few weeks I’ve said several times that trying to recreate our classrooms while distance learning isn’t where we should put our energy. The two aren’t the same, especially considering the fact that this isn’t exactly “distance learning” – it’s attempting education during a pandemic. Instead, we should Focus on What We Can…