With the sudden need for online and remote learning, I have compiled a list of blog posts that might be helpful for music educators!
How to Create Quick, Stand-Alone Videos: Flipgrid Shorts
Recently I’ve needed to create short videos for my students and their families to explain how to use various tech tools and complete assignments at home. YouTube is blocked for my students, and their parents don’t have easy access to our LMS. Finding a way to get the videos to both students and parents was proving challenging, until I started using the Flipgrid Shorts Camera! continue reading
Maintaining Community When Teaching Virtually: Try Flipgrid!
When students are learning from home, we hope they will continue practicing their instruments. But this isn’t always easy for students, only practicing alone when they are used to time with an ensemble. We are social creatures, and the band room is a social environment! Many students thrive on this time to make music with their peers – they likely didn’t join band to only play the clarinet alone in their bedrooms! My goal over the next few weeks is to leverage the power of Flipgrid to keep the social music-making alive. continue reading
Flat: Music Notation for Google Docs
While many people are familiar with Google Drive and the wonderful tools that accompany it such as Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Forms, I found that fewer are familiar with the add-ons that can make these tools even more robust. My favorite add-on by far is Flat for Docs. Flat allows you to insert musical notation directly into a Google Doc or Slide, without ever leaving the application! Gone are the days of opening Sibelius, creating a new file, inserting your notation, taking a screenshot, and copying that into your document. With Flat, you never have to leave google! continue reading
Wakelet in the Music Room
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 this tool to have so many incredible uses for teachers, and making it even better, Wakelet is completely free! continue reading
Apps for Beginning Band and Orchestra
I enjoy using iPads in my elementary band and orchestra classes and have found several apps that work well in this setting. While I would never advocate for using technology exclusively in an instrumental music class (they need to play the instruments, right?) it can be a great supplement. continue reading
STEAM Lessons With The OK Go Sandbox
In March 2018 the OK Go Sandbox was launched in collaboration with the Playful Learning Lab (through the University of St. Thomas) and sponsorships by Google. The sandbox is awesome! It contains materials and lesson plans to accompany music videos that teachers can use in STEAM lessons. continue reading
Google Slides in Music
G-Suite for Education has so many fabulous tools and they seem to get better every day. One of the most versatile is Google Slides! As music teachers, our focus is the music. Technology is great, but only if it can support the music. And that is one of the big reasons I like using Google Slides – the technology is simple enough that music remains the focus. continue reading
Flipgrid Updates for Music Teachers
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 updates released this year I have even more ideas on how to use it in the music classroom. continue reading