ipads in Music Education Session 3

Transcription

1 Online 2013 ipads in Music Education Session 3 Katie Wardrobe Midnight Music

2 ipad Bands 3 Instruments 3 ipad as guitar amp/effects unit 4 ipad band setup 4 Creative ways to present student work and set assignments 5 Multimedia tools 5 Apps 5 Concepts 5 QR Codes 6 What is a QR code? 6 How to scan a QR code 6 How to generate a QR code uses for QR codes in the music classroom 8 Useful links 9 Screencasting 9 About screencasting and whiteboard apps 9 Ideas for the music classroom 9 Screencasting and whiteboard app options 10 Word processing, presentations and digital books 11 Digital book apps 11 Presentations 11 Homework 11

3 ipad Bands Instruments ipads can work well as real instrument substitutes or supplements. They excel at emulating synthesizer and drum sounds and there are a huge range of other instrument apps available. I won t list all the instrument apps available (there are way too many!), but here are a few that are worth exploring: GarageBand - almost all schools have GarageBand installed and it has a decent range of basic pop/ rock instruments. Don t forget to explore all of the keyboard variations. You can also limit the scale being used by many of the melodic instruments which can be useful for improvisation activities (blues, pentatonic etc). Thumbjam - great range of different sounds and has the ability to create your instruments (by sampling your voice or another instrument). In-built recording and looping functions too Bebot (synthesiser) - visually appealing and surprisingly flexible synth app Drumjam - fantastic array of world music percussion sounds and drum kits. Very flexible Percussive - simple range of mallet percussion instruments ibone - an ipad trombone. Seriously. Ocarina - this one s actually for iphone only, but worth taking a look at Finger Stomp - untuned Stomp-style percussion 3

4 ipad as guitar amp/effects unit By plugging a semi-acoustic guitar, electric guitar or bass guitar into the ipad and taking advantage of amplifier/effects apps, you can travel light and leave much of the heavy gear at home. To plug your guitar into the ipad, you ll need to use a special adaptor. The most commonly used device is the irig by IK Multimedia. In addition to the irig, you ll need to install their app Amplitube ($20.99). There s also a Lite (free) version. ipad band setup The biggest hurdle to overcome is the amplification of multiple ipads. You need to figure out a way of plugging all of the ipads into some kind of mixing desk which is, in turn plugged into a PA. Options: Small ensemble - if you have a small-sized ensemble and a large enough mixing desk, you can plug all the ipads into the desk. Each one will need to have it s own channel, so if you have 6 ipads, you ll need a 6-channel mixer or larger Large ensemble - if you have a large ipad ensemble, you can plug groups of ipads into a single device which acts as a hub and then plug the hub into the mixing desk. An excellent solution is to use a Jamhub (image below) which allows you to plug in 4 or 6 ipads (depending on which Jamhub model you choose). The Jamhub is then plugged in to a single mixer channel. Therefore, if you had two Jamhubs and a mixing desk with 4 channels you could potentially plug in a total of 14 ipads: 12 ipads via the Jamhubs, plus two more ipads directly into the mixer. 4

5 Cables/leads: You ll need lots of cables! The cable will go out of the headphone port on the ipad, so you need to use either a cable with a mini jack end (3.5mm), or use an adaptor (male-female) which will fit on to the end of a regular guitar lead. Creative ways to present student work and set assignments Multimedia tools There are many creative ways that students can present assignments or demonstrate learning using the ipad. One of the advantages of using an ipad is the ability to incorporate multimedia such as audio and video which fits perfectly with a subject like music. These same techniques can be used to set student work or explain concepts as well (good for a one-ipad classroom). Apps Most of the ideas below involve using general educational or business apps which are likely to be included already on school ipads. I ve suggested specific apps for these projects, but there are other options available. If you re at a school with a 1:1 ipad program, check to see what s installed first. Concepts Ideas that follow incorporate the following: QR codes Screencasting and whiteboard apps Word processor and book-creation apps Presentation apps 5

6 QR Codes What is a QR code? You may have seen them around the place: square barcodes that can be found on posters, flyers, supermarket products, shop windows, magazines and real estate boards. A QR code (quick response code) contains information that will automatically connect your ipad or other smart device to an online location: a website, an audio file, some text or a map. In essence, a QR code allows you to combine physical world with the online world. The possibilities for education are extensive and very exciting. How to scan a QR code To scan a QR code you ll need to install a QR code reader app. Most QR code readers are free. There are many options available, but one that I like is i-nigma which is very responsive. To use the app, tap to open it, and hold your ipad camera over the QR code. It will make a sound and then automatically open Safari and connect to the website to which the QR code is linked. How to generate a QR code Let s look at the process for creating a QR code yourself: First, visit the web page that you want to link to Copy the web address (highlight the address and press Ctrl+C on a PC, or Cmd+C on a Mac) Visit a QR code generator site such as (there are many others, but this one features a lot of flexibility) Paste the web address into the URL box 6

7 Choose colours for the background and foreground (the code itself) if you wish Fill in the Captcha at the bottom and click Generate QRC The Qr code will appear in the square on the top right Next, download the QR code as an image by clicking on the Download PNG button. Select a location to save the image to and name the file something sensible (!) so you can find it again Now the QR code image that you saved is ready to be used. Read on for some practical applications in the music classroom 7

8 101 uses for QR codes in the music classroom Well, not quite 101, but almost! Bear in mind that you can link to almost anything that is located somewhere online. This includes audio files that you have uploaded to a website such as Soundcloud, videos on Youtube or Vimeo which means that you can easily share recordings of student work. Display sheet music of student compositions which includes a QR code that links to a recording of a performance by the composer Notated compositions of students can include a QR code that links to audio commentary about their thinking behind the composition Worksheets can include QR codes that lead to instructions, tutorial videos or further information Display a QR code that takes students to a collection of approved websites for their research project Students can create a poster of their favourite band or artist which includes QR codes that link to videos of the artist performing, a map of their birthplace and their Wikipedia article Orchestral and band parts can feature a QR code next to the title that links to information about the composer and history of the piece Orchestral and band parts could also feature two other QR codes: one that links to a recording of the complete piece and another that leads to a recording of their part played on its own Sheet music could have a QR code code above a tricky passage: the QR code code links to a recording or video of the teacher playing the passage You could create a treasure hunt or quest for the students: a series of QR codes down a hallway which each links to a clue. Each clue leads students to the next one You can include QR codes on printed worksheets that take students to an answer page which is not visible until the code is scanned Students can create a soundwalk (a spoken walking guide or story devised by US teacher Nick Jaworski) which is uploaded to audio-sharing site Soundcloud. They can then display a QR code at the start of the walk which links to the soundwalk audio For instant response class questions, you can create a QR code that links to a Google Doc survey where students need to respond to a question (or many questions). Answers can be submitted anonymously if you choose and the answers will come in in real time Some QR code code creators allow you to keep the same QR code but change the destination link, without having to re-print the code. These are useful for displaying a composer of the day, a quote of the day, or a song of the week Students can compose and record a theme to go with their favourite book or make a book trailer. The recording can be uploaded to Soundcloud and then a QR code can link to the recording. The QR code can be placed on the back of the book 8

9 Students can use QR codes to explore a physical object: place QR codes on different parts of a musical instrument and discover the name of each part and what it s function is Similarly, QR codes can be included on each section of an orchestral layout picture: each code links to a recorded example of that section Useful links QR Codes Explained By Common Craft QR Codes Explained (Free Tech 4 Teachers) Treasure hunt creator - Gorillascan - QR code stays the same, link changes Sharing audio online: Sharing videos online: or or www1.teachertube.com (if Youtube and Vimeo are blocked at your school) Screencasting About screencasting and whiteboard apps Whiteboard apps allow you to draw freely - using your finger or a stylus - on a blank background. Most whiteboard apps also allow you to record yourself drawing, while you talk through what you re doing. You can then export the end product as a movie file and share it with others. The best apps also allow some flexibility: change the background colour alter the style of the pen (transparency, thickness and colour) type text add icons and shapes (arrows, squares, stars, circles) re-order objects (using layers) import images such as a 5-line staff, music notes/clefs, instrument pictures insert documents Ideas for the music classroom There are a number of ways you could use screencasting apps in the music classroom. A few suggestions: Explain musical concepts to students, or have them demonstrate their own understanding of concepts. Examples include music theory concepts, labelling parts of an instrument or the sections of the orchestra 9

10 Sing or play the 12 bar blues (or a recording) and have students identify the chords at the right time by drawing Roman numerals on the blank whiteboard While a recording is playing, students can identify the sections of the pop song, or the themes in a classical piece. They could press record before the teacher starts playback of the piece and their answers would be recorded in realtime, matching up with the recording that s being played. They could write their answers or use shapes to represent different sections Students could explore graphic notation: they could sing or play and create a graphic representation of their composition as they go Students could graphically notate each other s performances. One student plays/sings while the other graphically notates the compositions Screencasting and whiteboard app options There are a number of apps available. If you have a school-managed ipad, check to see whether you have any of these apps: Explain Everything 10

11 Showme Screenchomp Educreations Word processing, presentations and digital books If students are working in 1:1 ipad school, the ipad may be the only device they can use to create and submit assignments. If that s the case, students will be using word processing, presentation and digital book apps. Of course, these can work well in music as well and one of the benefits is the option to include multimedia items such as images, audio files and video. Digital book apps Digital book-creation apps are perhaps the most flexible option here. You can write text, insert images, include hyperlinks, add movies and audio and move things freely around on the page. There are many app options here, including Book Creator, ibook Creator and Scribblepress. Word processing Like their desktop counterparts, word processing apps allow students to write and present assignments which can be printed or viewed on the ipad. The multimedia options are not as extensive as the digital books apps, nor can you usually freely place objects on the page. Word processing apps are great for creating and modifying text. You can also import images and add hyperlinks. Apple s Pages is the most commonly used word processing app and is usually rolled out on all school ipads. Presentations Presentation apps can also be a great way of presenting assignments and work well on the ipad. Again, most schools recommend that students install the Keynote app, but there are many other options too. The difference here is that information can easily be broken down into smaller chunks and you can add transitions. Homework 1. Play with QR codes! Choose a destination website and then create a QR code for it. Print the code out and then scan it with your QR code reader app. Devise some uses for QR codes in your classroom. 2. Download and install a screencasting/whiteboard app (check to see if you have one on your ipad first) and then create a short tutorial video. Press record, draw a musical symbol such as a treble clef and talk through the method for drawing it. Play back your tutorial video to check it. 3. Optionally explore some of ipad instrument apps like the ones mentioned above. Unfortunately there s no way to truly experience an app until you ve downloaded (and purchased) it, but you can read reviews, look at images from the app and explore Youtube videos of users and the app makers showing them off. 11