Caitlin Hutchison - TMS/THS Band Director
Bruce Miller - RMS/RHS Band Director
Chuck Yost - GMS/GHS Band Director
How have you handled teaching students how to play instruments online this year?
C. Hutchison: At first, I was extremely overwhelmed about the idea of teaching online and in person. My biggest concern was the number of beginners I had online. I quickly learned that Google Calendar was my best friend. My online beginners had the opportunity to have a weekly private lesson with me so that I could make sure they got the strong foundation that they needed. I have actually enjoyed developing the curriculum. It has given me the opportunity to think outside my rehearsal-based box. We have learned about careers in music, jazz, Drum and Bugle Corp, composition, theory, and some history.
B. Miller: As a band director, I have adapted my approach to teaching band in many ways, but utilizing technology has been my guiding factor. First and foremost, the use of Google Classroom has opened doors to my teaching style. Now, I can share information with my band and guitar students on more music resources and learning platforms that allow them to have "almost" instant access to music and recordings that will enable students to become better musicians and students.
What technology, programs, or applications are your favorite to use with your students?
C. Hutchison: We have used Google Meet extensively. We use SmartMusic, which is an amazing program that allows students to be recorded and the program shows the notes they have missed. It also sends me the recordings so that I can give feedback where needed. We have used Flat.io, which allows my students to compose. We have written melodies on top of prewritten chord progressions as well as writing variations to popular themes. We have also used Sight Reading Factory, which gives students randomized snippets of music that they sight read.
B. Miller: TCPS has provided the music departments access to excellent music technology such as Smart Music, Sightreading Factory, and Flat. Each program gives the learner a new approach to develop their musicianship and knowledge. Smart Music is a vast library of music literature that allows the teacher to assign pieces of music to the student with instant access to music recordings and instrument-specific music parts that are performed for the learner. Sightreading Factory gives students the ability to develop their music reading skills at various levels. Flat is a music notation software that allows the student to become the composer. I have found my students that have enjoyed learning with each of these programs and developed new skills that have strengthened their performance skills. With all that said, I tell my students all the time, "If I had this technology, it would have made me a better musician and all-around better student." All three programs have been "game changers" in my teaching style.
C. Yost: We have utilized Google Classroom and SmartMusic (to a lesser extent). Individual kids have used Sight Reading Factory, and I have used Google Flat for some easy arrangements.
What advice do you have to other teachers who may be struggling with online teaching?
C. Hutchison: Think outside the box. Explore all of the programs that you have access to. Allow students to be creative. Use Screencastify, a lot. I have developed tutorials for every program we use that I can easily send to a struggling student as a reminder. Screencastify is great because they are hearing your voice, your unique style of teaching, your humor, and getting that visual walk-through that they need at the same time, helping multiple learning types succeed. Reach out to other teachers across the county in your subject area. Sometimes, you might have a hard week and you may struggle to come up with something. When that happens, we make a phone call and ask to borrow an assignment.
B. Miller: I encourage fellow teachers to always reach out to one another and share, share, share. My fellow TCPS band directors and I have shared more teaching tactics and ideas this year because we have new avenues to share ideas and lessons that engage students.
C. Yost: Hang in there and take advantage of the free help. I personally belong to a few Band Director groups, and have gotten ideas from fellow educators......also, Retire!
Testing season is here! If you are wanting your students to practice the tools for the SOL test or to show your students something they will see while testing you can practice using the student Chromebooks while students are in your classroom. To have easy access to TestNav, have your students do the following:
1) Sign out of the Chromebook.
2) On the sign in screen, look at the lower left side and find the Apps button. Click "Apps" and then click "TestNav"
3) The first time you have students go to the TestNav site they may have to find Virginia. Once the Virginia sign in screen appears, click "SOL Practice Items" in the middle of the screen.
When you receive an email 99% of the time you will use REPLY. This will send your reply to the original sender of the email. In very few instances it is acceptable to use REPLY ALL. When you use REPLY ALL, everyone that received the email will receive your reply. Below are some instances where it is ok to REPLY ALL:
Use “Reply all” if the sender is asking for a group discussion or feedback.
“Reply all” might be necessary if the emailed group needs to see your response about your availability or your input on a topic.
Other than these very few situations, it is rare you need to use “Reply All,” especially if your email address is in the cc field. Click the button below to read more about the etiquette of using Reply, Reply All, Cc, and Bcc.
Check out this video from the New EdTech Classroom on some of the top picks for new programs and tools for you and your students. There are several of these programs that are free and some require a small monthly fee. Check them out to see if they are something that you could use with your students!
Feel Free to pass this information on to your students especially if they are running out of battery or having Chromebook issues regularly. Try to have your students shut down their Chromebook once a day.
Shutting down your Chromebook (Hold down the Power button)
Turns the battery completely off
Allows Chromebook to receive the latest updates when rebooted
Closing the Lid (Sleep Mode)
Drains your battery
Does not allow Chromebook to update which could lead to many other issues.
Google Slides
English Help for Educators
Google Docs 2.0
Technology Integration in Performance Assessments
Google Sheets Part 2
Google Arts & Culture
Google Drive
Google Forms Part 1
Bitmoji Classroom
Google Sites
Google Slides Add-Ons
Jamboard
Nearpod
Peardeck
Autocrat
Gmail 2.0
Google Keep
Google Forms Part 2
Google Meet
Screencastify
Students can easily find all of their assignments and their missing work in one place. This short video walks you through the process of helping students stay up to date with what assignments are due and/or missing in their Google Classroom.
Restore Annotations in Kami by using the Restore Annotations Tool.
By clicking on the "Restore Annotations" option in the menu bar you can restore deleted comments on a page- by-page basis.
Found that perfect App/Extension but it's blocked for students? We can help with that. Please fill out the App request form after checking out the list of Apps/Extensions that are already approved.
We are still seeing a handful of YouTube issues and it happens randomly. The most common issue is the video keeps refreshing and will not play. A workaround for this is to use the link below to post your Youtube link into the website and it will create a new link for students to view.
An added bonus is it will remove the suggested videos from the page so students will focus on the correct video.