If you’ve ever wondered about which technology you should be using in your classroom, this episode is for you. Joining me are two of my most tech-savvy contacts, Stephen Keys and Ryan Sargent.
Stephen is a Google certified educator and trainer, an Apple teacher, a Flipgrid Ambassador, and a Soundtrap certified educator.
This month we feature Frank Ticheli’s bright and joyous Sun Dance. This uplifting grade 3 piece is suitable for middle school through college and community bands. To view the score and hear the recording simultaneously, first click the play button:
Then follow along in the score by clicking the full-screen icon in the bottom right corner of the score window below.
The school year is almost over! As you count down the last few weeks (or days), you’re likely considering all sorts of year-end activities. While you check in school instruments, make plans for summer repairs, and organize your music library, it’s also worth taking a few minutes to make sure your SmartMusic account is ready for summer break, too.
Now more than ever, teachers need to document their effectiveness as educators by tracking student progress. Tracking the right student data can help demonstrate student achievement as well as the proficiency of the teacher. These benchmarks are commonly referred to as Student Learning Objectives (or SLOs). Tracking SLOs helps show that your students are meeting standards and demonstrate your impact as a teacher.
We jokingly refer to this time of year as May-une, the strange but wonderful period between the end of April and graduation. Just like you we are busy with concerts, award ceremonies, banquets, and volunteer recognition.
A top priority in these final weeks is to do everything we can to best close up shop and set things up in advance for back-to-school.
We are continually refining new SmartMusic based on feedback from you. Next week we will address a very popular request; we’re adding visual feedback to indicate when a student has played a note early or late.
To clarify what will change, let’s review how this feedback has worked previously in new SmartMusic.
At first glance, the end of school year might seem like an odd time to talk about getting SmartMusic up and running. However, if you’re thinking about implementing new SmartMusic for the first time next fall, now is a pretty good time. You might even consider setting up a trial run with some of your returning students – it’s a great way to get them to practice more over the summer.
Every director has an idea of what their dream rehearsal would look like. One can imagine it includes a group of focused, organized, and enthusiastic students all of whom came to class on time, prepared, and ready to learn.
In each music program, a culture emerges – a distinctive personality that begins with the director and shapes how the students develop as team members and musicians.
You’ve heard us say that SmartMusic is great for differentiated instruction. But what does that mean exactly? In this article, we’ll share some specific ways SmartMusic can help you meet the needs of every student.
AssessmentFirst, let’s talk about assessment.
Formative assessment is a term used to describe the techniques that teachers use to conduct in-process evaluation of the progress students are making.
The school year is almost over – and in my case, things are ending with a bang! Three weeks ago the band teacher at my school had surgery and needed a week off. I agreed to sub for him while he was out, especially since I’ll be taking over for him next year when he retires.