Today I took a staff college class for the iPad. I never know what to expect from these classes because it is rare to find apps that are applicable to choral music.
In this class, the teacher covered the application called Socrative, (www.socrative.com) which is a free web-based application that permits you to give quizzes to your class. Your students do not need a username or password to use it; you could ask a question orally and they could respond on their smart phone, iPad, laptop, or PC. I thought I might be able to use it in my music theory class to review new concepts that I might’ve taught by dictating a few questions and seeing the immediate response of the students.
The next app was called Nearpod. It’s a presentation tool where you could download something like a PowerPoint, you have complete control over the iPads and smartphones of your students; the kids can become interactively engaged and it puts everything in one place for your lesson. I wasn’t quite sure how I would use this in a theory class or in an ensemble class.
The class concluded with the instructor sharing a few websites that she found useful in dealing with iPad applications. The first was called Edshelf.com where you will find a collection of apps by subject and topic. Teachers create “shelves” or “collections” based on subject matter and these same teachers provide reviews of those applications. This looks like it would be something I could use or at least would like to further explore.
Finally, came the sharing of http://www.ebweb.net which is free and it is a place where you can join PLC’s – professional learning communities. It’s a chat room, it’s interactive, it provides hour-long webinars. Upon completion, you receive a certificate of participation in the PLC.
All in all, not a bad way to spend a morning!
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