Music technology is either an exciting idea, or one that brings dreadful reluctance.
When I think of doing anything in my classroom, I try to think about what I want the end result to look like.
If I want students to have a better concept of melodic patterns, I’d use Chrome Music Lab’s Song Maker to have kids replicate songs, or create their own melodies following some basic rules.
If I wanted students to have a better understanding of drum patterns or phrasing, I’d load up GroovePizza and teach the kids how to find these patterns and what they look like.
My suggestion for any thing when it comes to planning is asking yourself what you want to see, and find a tool that will help your students achieve that goal.
Hidden Curriculum
One of the best things that technology can do for your students in music class is help them learn how to navigate their device in a way that empowers them to be doers rather than reliant on another person. When a kid navigates to a website and goes through a series of clicks required to complete the task, they are actively becoming problem solvers and readers.
When I create assignments for students online, it usually goes something like this:
Often times I will not read the directions in assignments for the students, especially if they are in 4th grade and up. While kids complete assignments, I help them troubleshoot issues, or clarify misunderstandings. I try not to give them the solution, but I try to give them the tools to figure out the answer to their problem. I think they have a lot more take aways from the lesson when they are able to problem solve like this.
Increasing class engagement
I’ve found that once kids get to the 5th grade, their willingness to take a risk, or put themselves out there start to decrease. I know if I ask my 3rd graders for volunteers, I’ll get most of the class, but its the opposite for the older kids. I find that these kids are still interested in exploring new ideas, but they might be afraid that they are going to fail in front of others, or be made fun of for one reason or another.
When I am teaching kids how to read and write traditional notation, I can hold their attention at first to learn some basic concepts, but I can’t go in depth because they just kind of hit a wall. Something that helps these kids open up to more is connecting it to an activity that they can do on their chromebook or device. These activities often reinforce what I am trying to teach, while giving them a more comfortable space to make mistakes and take risks.
I think that adding technology lessons to a music class that offers performance opportunities like singing, playing instruments or dance makes the learning experience more well rounded.
Where to start?
I think that the answer to this question depends on the teacher. If you are a teacher with a limited understanding of technology, you should start with a basic creative tool, and make the assignments more exploratory rather than following a set of step by step directions.
Here’s a simple example:
“Create an 4 measure melody in Song Maker. Learn your song on the xylophone. Teach a partner how to play your song on the xylophone.”
As you learn more about the program that you teaching, you can extend the lesson:
“Create an 8 measure melody in Song Maker. Include root position chords at the bottom of your screen. Play your melody on a xylophone. Teach a partner how to play your chord pattern with two mallets. Play together!”
