Digital Technology in the Elementary Music Classroom

This is a guest blog post by Elizabeth Lawrensen, who serves as the lower school music teacher at Chattanooga Christian School. Elizabeth is a tech-savvy teacher and I knew she would have good tools to share!

Using digital technology in the music classroom can be very rewarding, giving students ownership over their own creativity with the vast array of free music technology that is currently available. In my music classroom, I use both education-specific technology as well as free online software and websites available publicly. Different websites or applications have different benefits as well as disadvantages for the classroom. It is important to know what your goals are as well as what your students' level of proficiency is with the device they are using.

Here's a non-exhaustive list of the digital music technology I use in my classroom, and a perspective on the benefits/disadvantages for elementary school students.

1. Audiotool



Audiotool is a free online DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). It contains various free samples available for use in a library, and can be sample-based, loop based, or can utilize your own tracks. Audiotool is set up like a physical workstation, with software pedals, synths, and drum machines that mimic actual physical hardware. For this reason, Audiotool is a lot of fun to work with, but also can be a challenge to explain to younger students with no previous experience with signal flow works and what different devices achieve in terms of sound modification. When teaching Audiotool, I have usually begun with explaining what samples are, explaining loops, and then teaching one of the basic drum machine modules on the app, called "Machiniste." "Machiniste" is a drum machine with the ability to import samples from the Audiotool sample library, which is sourced and uploaded by other users of the online app. Users can sequence samples on each beat or sub-beat using a grid. The grid allows 16 samples per measure (one per sixteenth note) for multiple instruments.

Usually, I challenge students to choose a kick, snare, and a cymbal or clap first and make a "classic" drum beat before going crazy. I explain how if you want a kick to happen on beats 1, 2, 3, and 4, you need to click squares 1, 5, 9, & 13.

Another great aspect of Audiotool is that you can open public projects that other artists have created and work on their projects directly in the app. This can be a great learning tool to see how other artists have used the workstation to make a certain sound.

Disadvantages of Audiotool include:
A pretty high learning curve for those with no experience in sound production. Samples are not filtered- if students search for inappropriate language, it could come up if someone has uploaded a sample containing that word. Recording original audio needs to happen in a separate module outside of the main app, making Audiotool ideal for sampling and looping.

2. SoundTrap


SoundTrap is another free online DAW. This is much more ideal for original recording, and while it is free, if students are using a school email, their account will be deactivated after a trial period because the educational license is not free. While I enjoyed using this website, for its basic capabilities, I did not find the price of $249/year for 50 students to be an efficient use of my budget as I only used the website for a one-quarter elective.

SoundTrap is free for non-educational users and makes it easy to record directly into the web application with your built-in computer microphone. It is also easy to set up midi through your computer keyboard or an external device.

SoundTrap can also use samples but is not as sample oriented as Audiotool. When choosing between the two, I prefer Audiotool due to it being consistently free for students to try and use.

3. Noteflight


Noteflight is a free online software for musical notation. It can be a tool students use to practice basic notation and learning how to translate ideas into sheet music for others to play. I sued this software at a limited level with fourth-grade record students. The students appreciated being able to hear their own compositions played by the computer player on various software instruments. At the end of our short song-writing unit, I used Noteflight to print a mini-book of student composition for each class.

4. Odogy


I used this website to "test"/"play a game" on recorder during the second half of fourth-grade music. After students know most of their notes, they will be able to choose basic songs and be able to play along with the computer on known songs. I input students' names, then they can choose the song they would like to play. Songs can be modified for tempo, etc. The fingerings for recorder are displayed on the left while students play the song chosen. The notes light up as students play into the computer microphone. For each note played correctly, the note will show a fire symbol. Notes not played correctly will turn red.

This "Game" became a competition of sorts this year in music class. Students would be motivated to beat the top score on certain songs or see if they could get 100% correct. This is a great way to encourage both solo playing and to build confidence in recorder playing in the form of a game.

Teacher Tips for Canvas

As our upper school has started to robustly use the learning management system Canvas, I have a few tricks and tips that might be helpful on the educator side of things:

• Things to be aware of when creating digital quizzes (here is a video explanation of information below): 

• Options for shuffling answers. If you create multiple choice or true/false questions in a Canvas quiz, the correct answer will always default to the top answer (a) unless you do one of the following:
• When creating a question you can manually pull the arrow that points to the correct answer down in the question so that you are randomizing the answers yourself. OR....
• When setting up the quiz, choose the "shuffle answers" box so that the quiz itself with automatically shuffle the answers for you. The downside of this is that you can't use answers like "all the above" or "both B and C" because it may look different for your students. 
• Allowing for extended time on tests. If you are a teacher that sets an amount of time for a quiz or a time availability (a close time) when you assign a quiz that quiz will automatically be submitted when that time is up. If you want to allow students extended time for tests, don't use the availability but require an access code. This way once the class is over, the students can access the quiz afterwards as well. For this option I would suggest changing the access code after each class for integrity purposes.

• Using Calendar Events for non-graded assignments for students (here is a video explanation of information below). There is one way to add things to the students's calendars that does not impact grade book. (You can also create an assignment that is labeled "no submission" and it will allow you to put a grade in for it and will show up on your grade book. This might be a good choice for dressing out in P.E., or journal checks):
• Create an event. Choose to click on the calendar link on your blue vertical navigation toolbar. 
• In the top right corner of the calendar view click on the + to add an event.
• Title your event that lets your students know what the expectation will be. You can add more details by clicking on "more options."
• The event will default to being added to your personal calendar, so make sure you use the drop down box to choose the class you want to share the event to.
• Click submit. (The event will now show up on the students's calendar and "upcoming" list). 

• Deleting the MISSING label after something is turned it late (here is a video explanation of the information below). I feel like this is something Canvas should fix automatically but if a student turns in an assignment late and you put the grade in, you will need to:
• Click on the across arrow inside the assignment box for the student in question.
• When the sidebar pops up change the assignment to either "None" or "Late (blue)" based on your needs. This will remove the missing label in your grade book, the students view and the parent view. 
• It is helpful to look over your grade book occasionally to see if their are any pink boxes and whether they need to be fixed. 

• Moderating a quiz. There are times when students might need an additional attempt at a quiz (here is a video explanation of the information below). As a teacher, you can click on a quiz a student needs to access and then in the upper right corner clicking on "Moderate this quiz," then click on the pencil next to the student you want to moderate the quiz for. This allows you to:
• Give individual students multiple attempts at a quiz
• Give immediate access to individual students take a quiz without having to go through the process of reassigning the quiz to the student.

• Communicating with students inside of Canvas. Students are getting use to receiving information about their courses through Canvas. If you are in a situation where you need to communicate important information to your students quickly you have two options (here is a video explanation of the information below):
• You can create Announcements for your course that you can assign to all your classes or to individual classes. It could be useful if you were absent one day because you could actually delay when it is posted after creating it and allow your students to see it as they enter the classroom. You can also allow them to reply to an announcement if you need feedback before the next class meeting or ask them to "like" it to show that it has been read. To use announcements:
• Go to Settings in your class and move Announcements up for students to view.
• Click on Announcements
• Create the announcement and assign it to the class based on your needs.
• Using the inbox inside of Canvas allows you to send messages to whole classes, individuals or groups. This is a very quick way to get students use to going to one location to receive information from you instead of going outside of Canvas to check their emails. To send messages to your students:
• Click on the INBOX on your blue vertical navigational toolbar.
• In the middle top of the next page, click on the paper with the pencil icon.
• Create the message you want to send (you can even attach files or videos that you might want your students to be able to access) 
• Make sure you choose the correct course or people you desire to communicate with via Canvas email.
• Press send. 

5 Easy Peasy Options for Tech Integration

There are some ways to integrate technology in your classroom that adds value to your learning environment and pretty much can be a go to no matter what the lesson plan. Here are my favorites no matter what grade level you might teach:

1. Research.
   
    Allowing students to find information on a topic by themselves allows them to delve deeper into areas that appeal to them. It also allows them to be in charge of the path of their learning no matter how "locked down" the requirements for the lesson are. Most school systems have access to online research databases that are grade-based helpful. Teaching students how to curate all the information on the internet is no easy task but placing good research options in their path helps. Using digital encyclopedias and search engines like http://kiddle.co for younger students can help. 
   
   
   Showing older students how to use the Google search engine tools (http://mashable.com/2011/11/24/google-search-infographic/#0vBxYjxrxsqb)as well as how to use your library's digital learning databases are important steps to preparing our students to learn how to find quality information with ease.
2. Mind mapping.
   
    This article talks about the benefits of mind mapping: http://mindmapsunleashed.com/the-mind-mapping-concept-and-how-you-benefit-from-this. There are many free or almost free websites and apps that allow students the beauty of gathering their thoughts on a topic in a systematic way. Apps like Popplet and Simple Mind+ and websites like www.mindmeister.com allow students the ability to creatively make connections to ideas, discern important points, as well as map outlines for papers. Mind mapping has also often shown a benefit to recall as well.
   
   
3. Collaboration.
   
    My favorite way to collaborate is using GAFE (Google Apps for Education), specifically Google Docs so that students can collaborate on writing projects through the use of multiple users on one document or even just allowing collaboration on a document by the adding of comments for reflection. There are also options like Padlet, Google hangouts, Skype, blogging, and the discussion boards of your school's LMS options that either allow students the ability to connect with each other or the world beyond the four walls of their classroom. 
   
   
4. Whiteboard options.
   
   For years teachers have used whiteboards for quick formative assessment to see if daily learning objectives have been met. Today, we have websites and apps like A Web Whiteboard, Explain Everything, ShowMe, and EduCreations that can be used to give students personal access to content. Digital whiteboard options also are a great tool to allow students to use at the end of a class to show their learning for the day as well. Finish your lesson, tell the students to open their Digital Whiteboard and say "create a file that shows me the top three things you learned today in class," or "Create a math problem using the formula we used today and solve the problem." The possibilities are endless. 
5. Studying aids.
   
    Technology is a great way to aid students in studying. Digital flashcard makers like Quizlet and word cloud creators like Wordle are a great way for students to reinforce spelling and vocabulary terms. Khan Academy, ck12.org, and other online options as simple as youtube offer your students additional support in studying for exams or refreshers for homework. 
   
   
   The options for integrating technology into the classroom are endless and the creative ability to what a teacher hopes to accomplish is turning more dreams into reality every day. Technology often affords the teacher extra time to have more one on one opportunities with their students as well as supporting the learning environment in very concrete substantive ways that didn't exist a decade ago. The above 5 options could easily be adapted and adopted in any classroom to reap the benefits of technology in our schools and to equip our students for the world beyond their academic life.