Educational Technology and the Reluctant Teacher: Technology Integration and Music Class

While composing with computers and keyboards naturally fits into the general music curriculum, many music teachers are lost once you get past that type of technology application. Technology applications used in core classes are easily applied to music class with a little imagination, and, excuse the cliche, outside the box thinking. There are many interactive sites that lend themselves to interactive white board use.

One of my favorites is the Arts Alive Canada. I use their giant, interactive staff for composing with my students. The kids all have a dry erase staff and get to take turns putting their compositions on the board. Once they are done there is a play button so they can hear their work. This is a great way to introduce kids to writing on a staff, as there is no room for error.

Another great "core" use is the creating of assessments using clickers. In a matter of minutes you can build a staff, rhythm or fingering chart to give a "written" assessment to your students. They are more engaged, put forth more effort and enjoy the testing process a lot more when they take them this way. Below are several examples of assessment pages using clickers for all levels.