Control Alt Achieve covers 40 Google for Education Updates for Summer 2021

Google made some big education announcements last week, including a bunch of education features across their apps.

Control Alt Achieve has a great overview of them. Click below to read more.

Control Alt Achieve: 40 Google for Education Updates for Summer 2021:

Summer is a nice time to take a break and relax, but Google has instead been busy working on new updates and features for schools.

On June 22nd Google hosted their "Anywhere School 2021" event (http://goo.gle/tas21) where they covered loads of announcements concerning 40 updates for Google Classroom, Google Meet, Chrome and Chromebooks, and Google Workspace tools in general.

In case you missed it, or are just trying to review through everything that was shared, see below for a list of all 40 updates that were shared at the event.

On the one hand, many of these features looks great (especially the education streaming feature with YouTube/Google Meet). On the other hand, it is easy to see that some of these features are born out of the needs of virtual/hybrid learning and may not be as useful as schools potentially return to in-person instruction this fall.

That said, it looks like there is plenty in store for Google Classroom users, no matter what teaching environment you may find yourself in this fall.

Getting Young Performers to Compose, Putting the E in Ensemble (and Much more), with Alex Shapiro

A few weeks back, I wrote and podcasted about getting my general music classes to compose, make beats, write, and remix songs this past school year. Read and listen to that here.

I am thrilled to report that I also got my band students to compose for the first time this past year, with very good results. I used composer Alex Shapiro's Putting the E in Ensemble curriculum (linked below). I am so inspired by her music, approach to composition, and general awesomeness that I invited her on my podcast. The conversation was an inspiration and a delight.

Listen to the episode and follow my podcast below. Keep scrolling through this post to see photos of Alex's amazing recording space and to listen to some examples of my student's compositions that resulted from using this curriculum.

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Episode Description: Composer Alex Shapiro joins the show to talk about getting young students to compose, the importance of composing repertoire for young musicians, writing electro-acoustic music, Putting the E in Ensemble, future tech, and her amazing studio space. Join Patreon for extended conversation about technology and overcoming blocks in the creative process.

Putting the E in Ensemble Links

Curriculum: - https://www.alexshapiro.org/Shapiro-E-ensemble_Syllabus.html

Wind Band music: - https://www.alexshapiro.org/ASWindBand.html

Show Notes:

The Great Hack - Netflix

The Social Dilemma

Christopher Cicconi appearance on Music Ed Tech Talk

Off the Edge - Alex Shapiro

Tight Squeeze - Alex Shapiro

Rock Music - Alex Shapiro

Count to Ten - Alex Shapiro

Toothpaste privacy Tweet thread

Apple WWDC 2021

My Scale Play-Along Tracks

App of the Week:
Robby - Magnet
Alex - Two Dots / SpellTower

Album of the Week:
Robby - Sarah Jarosz - Blue Heron Suite
Alex - O Seguinte é Esse / Howling, featuring RY X and Frank Wiedemann: Sacred Ground

Tech Tip of the Week:
Robby - Try widgets!
Alex - Back up your stuff! / Don’t get the latest version only to have paid to get the latest bugs!

Where to Find Us:
Robby - Twitter | Blog | Book
Alex Shapiro - Twitter | Website

Please don't forget to rate the show and share it with others!

Examples of student work

Alex's studio space

Music Ed Tech Conference, July 2021. Register now!

MusicFirst is putting on a Music Ed Tech Conference this summer. I strongly encourage you to check it out. It is completely free! There are a lot of great speakers including myself and past guest, Richard McCready.

Victor Wooten and Dr. Jeffrey A. Murdock are keynote speakers.

Click the link below to learn more and register.

Music Ed Tech Conference:

We are thrilled to announce the 2021 Music Ed Tech Conference: Renew, Refresh, Rebuild! This event is a completely free virtual conference held on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. It is open to all music teachers and features an incredible line-up of music educators from a wide variety of backgrounds, including two keynote speakers: Dr. Jeffrey A. Murdock (2021 GRAMMY™ Music Educator of the Year) and Victor Wooten (bassist and founding member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones). Attendees will be able to attend breakout sessions focusing on specific content areas and strategies for using technology to strengthen and rebuild music programs in the 2021-22 school year and beyond.

My session is called What Do We Keep? I am going to talk about which technological practices from the past year are worth integrating into the future of teaching.

I pushed my tech to the fringes last school year, and I think it is worth investigating what new ideas are worth keeping, which should be quickly discarded, and which have the power to transform classroom environments. I will be talking about my experience through the lens of both traditional performance ensemble teaching and the general music classroom where kids are making music, crafting beats, and covering various styles of music. Click the link below to read more.

Robby Burns — Music Ed Tech Conference:

WHAT DO WE KEEP? 2:05 - 2:50 PM EST, July 20, 2021 Join band and general music teacher, Robby Burns, to reflect on which digital teaching practices are worth integrating into the new year. Find out how he has pushed his technology to the complete limits, using advanced organization tools and automations to speed up his logistical work, as well as digital collaboration tools to create rich and engaging assessments online.

Profiles in Teaching with Technology Podcast | S3 E20: Robby Burns

I am pleased to be a guest on the MusicFirst podcast, Profiles in Teaching with Technology, this week.

I had a great conversation with Dr. Jim Frankle. We talked about my journey into music ed, catching an interest in technology, tips for teachers who are apprehensive about tech, what my school’s music program looks like (normally and during the past year). and my favorite uses for technology in the classroom.

Check it out below and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

MusicFirst - Profiles in Teaching with Technology · MusicFirst: Profiles in Teaching with Technology - S3 E20 - Robby Burns

Support Music Ed Tech Talk on Patreon!

As you can imagine, running a blog and podcast isn’t free. Costs of tools and hosting fees are monthly investments, not to mention the countless hours it takes to edit, publish, find guests, and other logistics.

Backstage Access patrons get access to an early-access podcast feed with bonus discussion. Ooooooh…. look at that pretty alternate artwork.

As public school teaching and private teaching are already far greater responsibilities in my life, this site has remained largely a hobby project to share the tools and strategies that help me manage my actual job, which is performing and teaching.

This past year, COVID forced me to be home more often and I felt a great need to share more of my experience with technology during a year where people needed it. I bumped up my average publishing to two episodes a month and a few blog posts.

I’d like to maintain that pace into the future and continue to produce deep, high quality content, that helps both teachers who are new to technology and those who are looking for more out of it.

Watch my Patreon Welcome Video.

For this reason, I’d like to ask for your support! I have four tiers you can choose from, and all of them have perks.

Click here to check out my Patreon page and show your support.

Become a Patron!

All supporters get a video update once a month which is kind of like an extended version of the Tech Tip/Apps/Albums of the week segments of my podcast. All supporters also get invited to the Music Ed Tech Talk Discord community. All you need is a Discord account and then you can join other patrons and guests to talk about tech, music, pedagogy, lesson ideas, hardware, tech support, and more.

There has already been some lively discussion there. I hope you will join in on the fun!

The Music Ed Tech Talk Discord community is a place you can talk with me and others about all things music, teching, technology, and more.

If you’d like to support, but not monthly, see my Buy Me a Coffee page. If you have something to promote, you can also sponsor the show.

I am looking forward to many more blog posts and podcast episodes, and to connecting with you online.

Become a Patron!

Buy me a coffee

The Discord even has custom music-ed-tech-nerd emoji.

New Software Coming from Apple (And What You Can Do With It)

Its been a busy few weeks as I have been wrapping up the end of a tough school year. While I am late to getting this week’s podcast episode out, I have been working on this site and have a bunch of content to share in the coming week.

I managed to sneak in enough time during the last week of school to watch Apple’s WWDC Keynote and to talk about it on Music Ed Tech Talk with Craig McClellan (cohost of my other podcast, The Class Nerd).

It was an opportunity to take a nice break from the challenging end-of-year procedures, and to think about how Apple’s fall software updates will impact how I get work done in the classroom. Listen below.

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Buy me a coffee

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Robby and Craig break down the announcements from Apple's Word Wide Developer Conference and discuss how teachers might use the upcoming features to their latest software updates.

Show Notes:

• The Class Nerd podcast
• Support the show on Patreon
• WWDC Keynote
• iOS 15 Preview | iPadOS 15 Preview | macOS Monterey Preview | watchOS 8 Preview
• Apps for Research and Remembering, with David MacDonald
• Overcast
• Dark Noise
• Apple Watch In the Classroom (The Class Nerd podcast episode)
• The Social Dilemma on Netflix

Album of the Week: Robby - Bones by Michael Mayo Craig McClellan - Sour by Olivia Rodrigo

App of the Week: Robby - Timery for the Mac Craig McClellan - Music Harbor

Tech Tip of the Week: Robby - Transpose Chrome Extension Craig McClellan - Feedbin

Where to Find Us: Robby - Twitter | Blog | Book
Craig McClellan - Twitter

Please don't forget to rate the show and share it with others!

App of the Week: Timery for Mac

I started time tracking around this time last year as a way to see how long I was spending on making virtual ensemble videos and other creative projects I was pursuing in my personal life.

Toggl is absolutely the tool for this job, and Timery is the best Toggl experience on iOS.

Using Apple’s Catalyst technology, Timery for Mac is built off of the iPad experience, with tweaks that make it adhere to macOS standards.

The hardest thing about time tracking is remembering to start and stop the timers. Because Timery has such a user-friendly design, it becomes way easier to trigger timers. Support for always-visible iOS widgets and support for Shortcuts make the experience even more frictionless.

The app is now available for the Mac using Apple’s Catalyst technology which I have recently taken about on my podcast (listen and subscribe below). forScore for the Mac is also made using this technology.

A TImery widget on iOS can be fixed to your Homescreen where you can see which timers are running and quickly launch the ones you need most.

I enjoy using the same apps for doing things across platforms. Timery is no exception. And because the Timery app takes advantage of macOS platform norms (like putting all of its commands in the menu bar), you can do cool things like automating it with Keyboard Maestro.

The only reason I might continue to stick with the standard Toggl app on Mac is because it does even more to take advantage of the system. For example, you can pin the window so it stays permanently visible on the screen no matter how many other windows you have open. It can also detect when your keyboard and mouse aren’t in use and offer to backdate the time you were idle (or working) based on your computer activity.

If you want to learn more, check our the MacStories review, linked below with a quote:

Timery Comes to the Mac and Makes Time Tracking With Toggl Easier Than Ever -- MacStories:

I’d still like to see reports added to Timery in the future, but I’m glad the Mac was addressed first. Time tracking is the sort of activity that needs to exist everywhere to be most effective. I’ve spent the past couple of years using Toggl’s Mac app, which has improved dramatically in that time, but I’m glad that I can now learn one set of keyboard commands and use them across both the iPad and Mac. If the lack of a Mac version of Timery was holding you back, now is a perfect time to give the app a try.

3 Soundtrap Projects Your Students Will Love

Listen to the podcast episode and subscribe below!

Subscribe to the Podcast in… Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Castro | Spotify | RSS

This is the first year that I have had consistent access to a cloud-based DAW and notation editor with all of my students. The result of this experience has been dozens of new Soundtrap project ideas. I plan to do an episode and post about how I am using these tools for composition projects in the band classroom later this year.

In the episode above, and in this post, I give an overview of three of my most successful Soundtrap projects this year. These projects can be done in any digital audio workstation, including Bandlab, GarageBand, Logic, Ableton Live, etc.

Listen to the episode for a more thorough explanation of each idea.

C Melody and Loop Audition

Melody writing in Noteflight and producing in Soundtrap go hand in hand. Because of Noteflight’s many export options, you have many ways to get your melody out of Noteflight and into your Soundtrap project.

After giving students some time to experience the user interface of Soundtrap, I have them write a short, 8 measure long, melody in the key of C using Noteflight.

Next, I have them export this melody as a MIDI file and then import it into a track in Soundtrap. Next, I have them add three more tracks and create an accompaniment for their melody using at least one of the three loop types.

1. Bass

2. Percussion

3. Harmonic (guitar, synth, piano, etc.)

Here is a recent submission of this project one of my students made. This assignment was submitted later in the semester when we had expanded the project into composing two alternating melodies which became the basis of a song-form in Soundtrap. By alternating between both melodies (and varying the loop accompaniment) the student made a song that follows the form: Verse—Chorus—Verse—Chorus—Bridge—Chorus. This particular student chose to improvise the blues scale over the bridge.

Row Your Boat Multi-Track

This idea was taken from the amazing Middle School Music Technology class content in MusicFirst. I recommend checking out their subscription options if you like this idea. MusicFirst combines the activity with curated YouTube and Spotify playlists that give students an idea about early recording studio practices for multi-track recording before music was produced digitally.

I am giving an overview of this project with permission from MusicFirst. Full Disclosure: MusicFirst is a past sponsor of the Music Ed Tech Talk blog and podcast.

To start, the student performs the song Row Row Row Your Boat into a software instrument track in Soundtrap. After it is recorded, they quantize it to the nearest 1/8th or 1/16th note so that it is rhythmically accurate.

Next, they duplicate this track two times. Using the piano roll to edit the MIDI content of each loop, students select all notes and drag them higher to create harmony. I have them move the second track a third higher and the next track a fifth higher so that they get a nice three-part voicing.

After multi-tracking the melody of Row Row Row Your Boat, this student moved the starting point of each region to create a round.

Next, I have them move any notes that land on black keys as a result down to the nearest white key so that every note of each voice is in the key of C.

Next, I have them duplicate these three tracks and transpose them up an octave. Next, I have them take the lowest voice and transpose it down three octaves to add some bass. You can have students make the final result as dense as you like.

Optionally, students can experiment with using different instrument sounds and adding groove-based loop accompaniment.

Here are three recent examples of my student’s submissions:

All-Star Remix

In this assignment, I take a popular song that students choose and separate the voice from the instrumental accompaniment. Then I add it to an audio track in a Soundtrap template and match the tempo and key of the Soundtrap project to the vocal track.

This way, students can drag and drop loops and have them match the pitch and tempo content of the vocals.

I have a post with more details about this project here.

You can watch a video of how to do it below.

Here are two examples of my own student’s recent work:

For a Soundtrap project idea for teaching band/choir/orchestra students to compose, check out the podcast episode and blog post below:

• Getting Performing Arts Students to Compose

Episode Info

See below for all notes associated with the podcast episode…

Description

Robby overviews his three most successful Soundtrap projects in 2021.

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 - Intro

• 00:00:14 - Sponsor: DMV Percussion Academy

• 00:01:24 - About this Episode

• 00:03:51 - YAY SUMMER

• 00:05:11 - 1: Melody Composition / Loop Accompaniment

• 00:14:35 - 1: Student Examples

• 00:16:15 - 2: Row Your Boat Multi-Track

• 00:22:19 - 2: Student Examples

• 00:24:27 - 3: All-Star Remix

• 00:34:38 - 3: Student Examples

• 00:36:00 - Grading for Mastery Not Creativity

• 00:37:47 - Tech Tip of the Week

• 00:39:20 - App of the Week

• 00:40:00 - Album of the Week

• 00:42:44 - Conclusion

Show Notes:

• Noteflight

• Soundtrap

• MusicFirst

• How to Make a Song Remix Project in Soundtrap (Blog Post and YouTube Video)

• Reddit: Isolated Vocals

• Neural Mix Pro

• Lalal.ai

App of the Week: 
Reeder 5

Album of the Week:
Alison Balsom - Paris

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, the DMV Percussion Academy. Learn more and register here.

Please don’t forget to rate the show and share it with others!

Subscribe to Music Ed Tech Talk:

Subscribe to the Blog

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6 Tech Podcasts I Listen to Every Week

I am often asked where I go to learn about technology.

The truth is that most of it comes through a few blogs and podcasts. I don't listen to many podcasts that deal specifically with integrating technology into the music classroom, though there are a few good ones. (Aside from my own, I recommend Katie Wardrobe's show Music Tech Teacher and MusicFirst's Profiles in Music Teaching with Technology.)

I don't listen to prescriptive "how-to" shows. I focus more on industry analysis, details of hardware and software features, and extended discussion. My favorite shows are conversational in tone rather than the hyper-produced style of the modern-day shows that NPR has popularized.

I find this style of show to be far more listenable and engaging while giving me a deeper and underlying understanding of the technology I use. This way, I am more empowered to adapt the technology I have to my unique professional challenges and lifestyle.

Here are my six favorites...

Upgrade

Probably my most listened show. Heavily focused on Apple technologies, news, and the streaming media landscape. The show is deeply informative but also has some produced elements like theme music and segments, which keep each episode moving at an engaging pace.

Here is a recent episode where the hosts review the new M1 iMacs and M1 iPad:

The Vergecast

The Verge is a great website for learning about all things in consumer tech. Their podcast is the most produced on this list, but the camaraderie between speakers allows for the ideas to present as looser and more raw than they do in written articles.

I have been considering an electric vehicle lately and enjoyed this episode about recent EUVs:

Mac Power Users

This show delivers tips for making the most of your computing devices each week. It includes pro tips, app recommendations, and interviews with professionals spanning many industries. Listening to MPU is one of the inspirations for my book, as it focuses on not just the tools, but how to implement them creatively.

If you are looking for a place to start, check out Music Ed Tech Talk frequent guest, David MacDonald, on this episode of Mac Power Users:

The Talk Show

John Gruber's The Talk Show is one of the shows that made me love podcasting. Though episodes are inconsistent in length, scope, and irregularly released, Gruber and his guests always have engaging discussion. So much so that I don't mind rants about sports, politics, and other "off-topic" diversions. This show is in some respects a prototype for the kinds of discussions I like to have on my podcast. Personal, detailed, and analytical.

Accidental Tech Podcast

Also very Apple-focused, but with more perspective on software development and adjacent technologies. This show is lengthy and more unstructured but also very deep. The three hosts are in software development and sometimes talk about topics that are just on the outside of my wheelhouse, but I am still able to follow along. The perspective of these hosts has strongly influenced the kind of quality and detail I expect from my technology.

This episode is a fan favorite, and gives you an insight into the kind of detail the hosts cover, and also their relationship:

Dithering

This is a paid show. For me, it is worth the $5 a month because it includes John Gruber from The Talk Show with one of my favorite of his reoccurring guests, Ben Thompson, who is a brilliant technology analyst. Two 15-minute episodes are released each week. The tight format keeps the discussion fast and rich.

Here is a clip:

What are NFTs?

Ben tries to explain NFTs to John

Subscribe at https://t.co/MAKQBl2Lyh pic.twitter.com/ynjHBxoFot

— Dithering (@ditheringfm) March 15, 2021

The Prime Directive, featuring Will Kuhn and Ethan Hein (Music Ed Tech Talk Podcast #32)

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

RSS Feed

Description

Ethan and Will join the show to talk about their book Electronic Music School, the Prime Directive, writing apps, and the future of the iPad.

Thanks to this week's sponsor, the DMV Percussion Academy. Leran more and registere here.

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 - Intro
• 00:01:25 - Sponsor: DMV Percussion Academy
• 00:02:03 - Star Trek
• 00:04:18 - Electronic Music School
• 00:10:09 - Teaching Underlying Musical Concepts of Electronic Music Styles
• 00:18:33 - Perceived Threat by Traditional Performing Arts Teachers
• 00:24:28 - Teaching Songwriting
• 00:27:23 - Scaffolding
• 00:37:15 - Fighting Racism with Music Education
• 00:48:37 - The Prime Directive
• 00:52:34 - Staying Relevant?
• 01:07:15 - We Live on Twitter
• 01:07:15 - Writing Apps
• 01:13:21 - Bedtime
• 01:16:07 - The M1 iPad Pro
• 01:35:51 - Tech Tip of the Week
• 01:38:14 - Album of the Week
• 01:41:07 - App of the Week
• 01:43:24 - Closing

Show Notes:

• Electronic Music School - PRE ORDER NOW
• Ethan's student's songwriting projects: example 1 | example 2 | example 3
• Vektroid / Macintosh Plus - Bandcamp | Floral Shoppe | Twitter | Neo Cali full album
• Scrivener
• OmniOutliner
• MindNode
• Music Ed Tech Talk #31 - forScore for the Mac, featuring David MacDonald
• AirServer
• Poolside.fm
• Toggle Rotation Lock when Using YouTube

App of the Week:
Robby - Tot
Will - In Haler Radio
Ethan - Figure

Album of the Week:
Robby - Tauk - Shapeshifter II: Outbreak
Will - Suburban Lawns - Janitor (Original Video)
Ethan - Clipping - The Deep

Where to Find Us:
Robby - Twitter | Blog | Book
Will - Twitter | Website
Ethan - Twitter | Website

Please don't forget to rate the show and share it with others!

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