Off the Beaten Path - Page 2 of 8 -A Music Teacher's Journey-

Flat: Music Notation for Google Docs

Posted on March 8, 2020March 9, 2020 by Theresa DucassouxLeave a Comment

Welcome back to the third in a series of short posts about tech tools I have been loving recently. Last time I wrote about my new favorite digital curation tool, Wakelet. Before that, the topic was Google Keep and how to use it to organize conference resources. This week I’ll be telling you about a great tool that makes it easy to incorporate music notation into your Google Docs and Slides. Flat for Docs While … Continue reading “Flat: Music Notation for Google Docs” →

Technology

Wakelet in the Music Room

Posted on February 23, 2020March 4, 2020 by Theresa DucassouxLeave a Comment

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, Wakelet is a digital curation tool. Similar to Pinterest, users can save content in one easy-to-find location. I have found … Continue reading “Wakelet in the Music Room” →

Technology

Google Keep for Conference Resources

Posted on February 16, 2020March 4, 2020 by Theresa DucassouxLeave a Comment

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 year, as I imagine many educators do. One thing I often hear people discussing is the best way to keep … Continue reading “Google Keep for Conference Resources” →

Band, Empowered Music Students, Technology

The Concerts are Over…Now What?

Posted on December 14, 2019December 14, 2019 by Theresa DucassouxLeave a Comment

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 in! While obviously we want to continue making music, there needs to be some kind of change to the daily … Continue reading “The Concerts are Over…Now What?” →

Band, Empowered Music Students

Listening With Purpose

Posted on November 8, 2019November 8, 2019 by Theresa Ducassoux1 Comment

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 have limitations and we all have blind spots. You can check out A.J.’s article here: The Surprising Research About Our … Continue reading “Listening With Purpose” →

Band, Empowered Music Students

Empowering Music Students at the Beginning of the Year

Posted on September 9, 2019November 8, 2019 by Theresa DucassouxLeave a Comment

This blog post has been a few weeks in the making – back-to-school this year was an exciting yet exhausting experience. Whether you are a few weeks into your school year or a few months, hopefully this post will provide you with simple ways to empower music students. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that you can only empower music students later in the school year. That you must wait until X, … Continue reading “Empowering Music Students at the Beginning of the Year” →

Band, Orchestra

Conversational Solfege – But Can They Read Music?

Posted on August 28, 2019August 28, 2019 by Theresa DucassouxLeave a Comment

This post is a few month 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 are taught to be musical from day one, but reading music is not the primary focus right away. If you … Continue reading “Conversational Solfege – But Can They Read Music?” →

Empowered Music Students, Technology

Flipgrid Updates for Music Teachers

Posted on August 7, 2019April 5, 2020 by Theresa DucassouxLeave a Comment

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, and with the new updates just released on August 1st, I have even more ideas for the upcoming school year! If you haven’t read my original blog posts about using Flipgrid in music, I recommend starting there. It’s a good idea to understand the basics before jumping in to … Continue reading “Flipgrid Updates for Music Teachers” →

#GoogleEI

Six Lessons from Google & What Music Teachers Can Learn from Them

Posted on July 26, 2019July 29, 2019 by Theresa DucassouxLeave a Comment

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 about. But not to worry, I will continue to add more music specific content this summer along with details about … Continue reading “Six Lessons from Google & What Music Teachers Can Learn from Them” →