band
Teaching Band in the Digital Era Julie Brown, WMEA State Chair, Band
I t ’s undeniable: we are living in a world that is full of new technology. In fact, technology is advancing so rap- idly that it seems as though things are obsolete almost as soon as they are in-
troduced to the public! How is it possible to keep up with everything? How does one sift through all that is available to find what works best? Let’s ask the experts… but how do we find them?
Finding the Experts
The Wisconsin Band Teachers Network is a 300+ member Facebook group of band teachers from all over the state. We post questions and share ideas in a group that more often than not feels much more manageable to its members than the na- tional groups can sometimes be. If you are a Wisconsin band teacher and not a member of the group, please join us:
www.facebook.com/groups/Wisconsin BandTeachersNetwork.
This summer, I asked members of the Wisconsin Band Teachers Network to share some of their favorite ways that technology enhances instruction in their classrooms. I was looking for favorite apps, ways to use different programs and devices, anything group members wanted to share. Here is what folks had to say!
Scratching the Surface of Google Several teachers shared ideas using some of the features Google has available to students and educators. If your school district is a “Google district,” then chances are you have access to cloud storage, apps, calendars and a variety of ways to easily connect you to your students and their parents. Teachers like Ryan Gutsch from Owen-Withee have used Google Forms for assessment purposes, creating rubrics
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similar to the WSMA Solo & Ensemble rubric for both the teacher and the students to fill out. Google Classroom is a blended learning platform for schools that aim to simplify creating, distributing and grading assignments in a paperless way. I have used Google Sites as a free web hosting option for our band’s homepage. It is easy to update, so assignments, concert information, or whatever is on there is kept current. There are so many useful and meaningful applications that Google has available for educators, one could literally write an article just on this one company! But, let’s keep exploring…
Modeling for Students
Kati Seiter (Washington Junior High, Manitowoc) talked about how she uses YouTube to create playlists for her stu- dents. These lists can include recordings of pieces the students are working on or studying, as well as videos of profes- sionals sharing ideas about instrument technique. For more information about how to create playlists on YouTube, you can go here:
www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Eec_pybewTY
If you have a Google Account, you also have a YouTube Account, and creating and sharing videos is easy. YouTube also has several privacy settings so that you can create something just for your students to see or a public video linkable from your band’s homepage.
Composition and Notation
There have been several notation pro- grams out there for many years. Finale has been around for more than 20 years and is a powerful program that serves as an industry standard for publishers. If Finale is too expensive for your school district, there is the less-expensive Finale NotePad, which is a watered-down, but still effective program for students and teachers to use. As web-based apps have grown in popularity, more teachers and students are turning to Noteflight and other
similar apps for easy and free ways to notate music. Other programs are also out there to help facilitate student com- position. Programs like GarageBand and apps like Acapella and Super Duper Music Looper give students the option of com- posing without traditional notation.
Connecting Made Easy
I have used a video chat program (Skype, Facebook video chat, etc.) to work with a guest clinician/conductor prior to their arrival. It was great because the clinician was only able to be with us the day of the concert (he was also serving as a guest conductor on the concert and lived three hours away), so we had a few video chat sessions where we would play the piece he was conducting, and he would work with the students on things. That way, we could incorporate his ideas prior to just the day of the concert. The only issue is a bit of lag, so having the person conduct the students over the video chat program is a bit tricky, but it’s a great way to get additional input prior to the performance! I know others have video chatted with composers, as well. I haven’t done this, but I’m sure the benefits are very similar!
Kati Seiter uses Livestream to put concerts live for out-of-town family members not able to be at the concert. These concerts can also be saved for student reflection as well. I do something similar with YouTube, though as not all the students I teach have granted permission to have their image used online, I simply create a private link for sharing with students for post-concert reflection during class time.
There are several apps or websites avail- able for keeping in touch with parents that other educators shared:
• Calendly web app syncs with Google Calendar to allow students to schedule lessons, makeups, or playing exams.
• Flubaroo (a Google Drive app) September 2016
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