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Robby Burns
David MacDonald unboxes the Odla music notation ...
David MacDonald unboxes the Odla music notation controller

Getting pumped up for Apple’s iPhone Event tomorrow

Apple is having their iPhone event tomorrow. You can tune in here tomorrow at 10 am PDT to watch the keynote live.

Apple is expected to announce three new iPhones tomorrow, including one premium priced model at the top end that will be seriously supply constrained for months after release. An LTE Apple Watch and 4K Apple TV are also expected. This will be exciting for me as I might be interested in all of these devices. 

I almost always get more excited about software than I do hardware when it comes to Apple. I am hoping that we will see some neat software that has not been demonstrated at previous events, perhaps relating to new hardware. For example, if the rumored new high end iPhone with the all-screen front is announced, I would love to see how Apple is going to redesign the OS to deal with the extra space on the bottom of the screen where the home button will have previously existed.  I would also love to see Apple address TV content deals with tvOS and the Apple TV. Wildcard dream wish: maybe if an LTE Apple Watch is shown off, Apple will announce a podcast app for the new model. I can dream, right?

🔗 Integrating Technology into the Elementary Music Classroom: FAQ | Music, Education & Technology -MusTech.Net:

Amy Burns does some great writing for mustech.net. She is writing to the elementary general music classroom in the blog post linked below, but I think her tips and strategies will resonate with music teachers of every variety. Be sure to check out her blog and subscribe!

Integrating Technology into the Elementary Music Classroom: FAQ | Music, Education & Technology -MusTech.Net:

This question is excellent and is asked often. When I was performing research for a keynote address I gave recently titled, “How Technology is Transforming the Way We Teach Elementary General Music Classes”, I directly addressed this question. When reading numerous Facebook music education boards, there is a divide on this topic. Music educators will comment on how technology can enhance certain activities like composition and music making for those who have limited abilities. Others will state that their music classroom is a “screen free” zone because students need a break from screens. While others are expected to utilize technology to address 21st century skills or their schools have become 1:1 (one device per student).

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🔗 Noteflight Learn Now Integrates with Google Classroom:

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Noteflight Learn Integrates with Google Classroom:

Noteflight Learn offers direct Google Classroom integration! All student and teacher logins, classes, and assignments are seamlessly integrated, offering several advantages:

• Google login is automatically synced; simply login to Noteflight Learn using Google.

• Individual classes, schools, or entire districts can integrate with a single Noteflight Learn site.

• Google Classroom classes are mirrored as Noteflight Learn Groups, so sharing scores and assignments with classes is easy.

• Noteflight can create assignments in Google Classroom and students can turn in or mark as done from their Noteflight score.

This new integration looks fantastic! The list of reasons to subscribe to Noteflight just keeps getting longer and longer.

🎬 Ellicott Mills Middle School Faculty Recital 2017

Last February, my music team put on a Faculty Recital to raise money for our program. You can now watch the entire thing on YouTube. Aside from a fairly stressful week or two coming up on the date, it was fairly easy to put together. Note: we had a lot of parent support and leadership. It turned out to be a great way to share our passion and musicianship with our students, all while making money to support the program in the process. Nothing beats hearing your colleagues practice in the rare five minute gaps between classes, planning, and putting out one of the 600 fires that come up each day as a teacher.

🔗 If SoundCloud Disappears, What Happens to Its Music Culture? - NYTimes.com

More on the doom of SoundCloud…

At least the article ends with a little bit of hope.

If SoundCloud Disappears, What Happens to Its Music Culture? - NYTimes.com:

SoundCloud’s fan base may soon learn this lesson the hard way. The service’s founder, Alexander Ljung, declined to be interviewed for this column, but after Chance the Rapper tweeted about his interest in saving SoundCloud, the men talked on the phone, which Chance reported was ‘‘very fruitful.’’ Ljung agreed, tweeting that for now, SoundCloud was ‘‘here to stay.’’ Whether SoundCloud can last another 10 years remains to be seen. But the moral of its struggle is clear: As digital culture becomes more tied to the success of the platforms where it flourishes, there is always a risk of it disappearing forever.

🔗 Howard County Public School System Spotlight: Play it Forward

This is a video from the school district I teach in highlighting one of our middle school bands and their efforts to commission new works every school year.

Andy Spang, Director at Folly Quarter Middle School, is a fantastic educator, and I think all teachers in the performing arts can be inspired and learn something from what he is doing with this program.

🔀 My digital workflows featured in Teaching Music magazine this month

There is a new Teaching Music magazine out. Here is the cover:

Even more fun is what's on the inside! There is a two page article on using technology to be better organized. It features some of my Todoist, Notability, and Dropbox workflows. Also featured is the amazing Amy Burns, who explains how she is using the apps iDoceo and Seesaw in the elementary general music classroom.

It is totally worth checking out. Also, Digital Organization Tips for Music Teachers is featured in the recommended resources section of the magazine, along with the next book in the Prestissimo Series, Recording Tips for Music Educators, by Ron Kearns.

 

Check out some pictures below...

 

🔗 SoundCloud, Which Rose to Stardom on Indie Talent, Lays Off 173

SoundCloud, Which Rose to Stardom on Indie Talent, Lays Off 173: 

Not long ago, SoundCloud was one of the fastest-growing and most influential players in the streaming business. Now it is shrinking, and faces an uncertain future in the rapidly consolidating online music market.

On Thursday, SoundCloud announced that it was laying off 173 employees, about 40 percent of its work force. The company will also close its offices in London and San Francisco, concentrating its business in Berlin and New York.

Note: this article is a couple of weeks old now.

SoundCloud is a brilliant service, essential for new and upcoming artists to be discovered, and perfectly applicable in a music education setting for sharing projects. It is great for hundreds of other things too, including podcasting, though my own is not hosted there. I am not sure what the solution for SoundCloud is but I would hate to see them go. If they do, I would be curious if someone could think up a more disruptive and pervasive model for an audio based social media platform.

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