Upping My Tech Game

Being a millennial, I love all things technology! I try to incorporate it in the classroom as much as I can. 

Here are some tech tools, websites, and apps I have found to be great:

Power Point Clicker 

This is nothing ground breaking new, but man has it helped me with behavior management and pacing. I do not have a smart board so when using the projector especially during power points I either have to walk back and forth from the computer, stay anchored near the computer, or have a student helper. Walking back and forth can be a bit distracting and I seem to always lose some students when being farther away from them. Another issue was the dreaded whines and hurt feelings about who got to be the computer student helper or the confusion of when to click on what. So....I was talking to a teacher friend and she said that a previous principal got them all clickers one year.   And I thought why haven't I thought of that?! When I think clicker, I think business presentations and a suit and tie, but it sure is effective in the classroom too! I got one off amazon for super cheap and all I have to do is plug in the USB bluetooth in my computer and turn on the remote and bingo, I am set! Also, something that I found so helpful is the clicker I got has a laser pointer too and now I can be very precise about what I am pointing at on the screen. My screen is up a bit high for my 5'2 stature so having the laser pointer instead of using my typical teacher like wood Apple pointer has been a life saver! 

Noteflight/Flat

This is a free online notation software.  It can be used for so many things.  I use it for arranging music, writing out parts for practice, and composition projects.  This is such an effective way for students to listen to a whole arrangement then piece by piece to help with learning an Orff arrangement or multiple part song.  I have also used in the past for composition projects.  The students had one day just to play around on the site and experiment, then given a few days to complete the composition with a few given guidelines, then you can share the piece on the sites community page so we had a sharing day.  

I just recently became aware of google's new music notation site called Flat.  I have not had time to check out this site but it looks promising. This might be an even better option.  If any of you have used I would love to hear about what you think.  It is definitely worth a look! 

Plickers 

A hard thing in the music room sometimes is incorporating time effective assessment.  Getting out paper and pencils, spreading out, clipboards, etc. takes quite a lot of time out of my thirty minute class.  When I found plickers I was so stinkin excited!!! It is a super easy way to assess students with out all the materials.  It uses the free site, QR codes, and your smart phone.  You can ask the students a multiple choice or true/false question and each answer with their own individual QR code card.  I printed them out off the site and put on card stock and laminated.  The students answer by holding the letter (A-D) they think is right right side up then I scan their card, with my phone camera, in the app and bam I have all the data on computer!  I think it is a super effective exit slip or mini quiz tool.  The site is www.plickers.com if you would like to check it out! 

A Website for Practice 

JoyTunes.com/Master/

This is a interactive recorder game that is too fun!  I first learned about this app from Mrs. Miracles Music Room Blog and when I went to download it myself I couldn't find it :( but a few months later I actually got the opportunity to go to a workshop by her and she shared that the app became a website. I was pumped!! It is as magical as I thought it would be.  You could play it as a class or even assign it for homework.  

Idoceo 

I LOVE this app! This is an all in one teacher organizer. I can track so much with it and I know that tracking data is big thing right now.  It is for ipad only and you can keep multiple seating charts, lesson plans, schedules, your grade book, attendance on it and it even has a random picker capability.  This app is very specials teacher friendly.  You can keep multiple classes on it and import class lists by .xls spread sheet.  The grade book is what I really love about the app.  There are so many different icons and options of how to assess the students. I can use smiley faces for quick assessments, color blocking for keeping track of turns, and a few select icons for marking if a student was absent during an assessment or a student has a learning disability.  It is really nice, even though it does take a bit of time, you can take a picture of the whole class and then, with the magic of this app, it will put a square on the face of each child and you can drag it into its spot by the child's name in the grade book.  When teaching hundreds of students each year it is always nice to have pictures....;)