OSU String Teacher Workshop 2013

It was great to be back in Buckeye Country, presenting at the OSU Summer String Teachers Workshop!  Below is some information about what we discussed, including links to hardware, software, and websites.

Essential Elements Interactive

A new supplementary technology tool to accompany Essential Elements 2000 for Strings or Band.  Visit the website or find us on Facebook to learn more or register!

Philosophy & Discussion of 21st Century Learners

We discussed the characteristics of 21st century students and how they interact with society.  We also discussed the teacher’s role in all of this – we must continuously adapt to our changing students so that we may always remain effective.  See my page on “21st Century Learners.” I would LOVE to hear more about this, so feel free to leave a comment!

Software

Apple Garageband (part of the iLife Suite/MacOS) – Simple to use and feature rich DAW (digital audio workstation) program for MacOS.  Allows audio recording, MIDI sequencing, and loop-based music composition.  We discussed several ways to enhance your rehearsals and performances with accompaniments made with Garageband.  See my “Tunes & Tracks” page to download some of the fun songs and the “Automation of Daily Routines” page for the tuning sequence and scales.

Audacity (free, Mac/PC) – a great sound editor.  Audacity is open source which means it is worked on by a large team of developers and is completely free.  Will allow you to record audio, edit, and save to multiple formats, such as MP3.  Not as feature-rich or pretty as Garageband, but runs on Windows too..

Hardware

Samson GoMic – Portable and inexpensive USB microphone for use with Garageband or other recording applications on Mac/PC.  A great value for the money. ($40)  Purchase on Amazon.com

Akai LPL25 – Portable 25 key MIDI controller.  Plug and play USB MIDI keyboard that can be used with Garageband, Finale, Sibelius, etc.  ($48) Purchase on Amazon.com

Roland UM-ONE – Midi to USB Interface.  This is a simple, inexpensive way to connect your existing MIDI-compatible keyboard to your computer via USB. Purchase on Sweetwater.com

Web Resources

Poll Everywhere (www.polleverywhere.com) Create real-time polls (multiple choice or open ended questions) for students who are using mobile devices or computer.  Works via SMS text messages, Twitter, or the web.

QR Stuff  (www.QRstuff.com)  Create QR codes for print media.  Smartphones with a camera can use a QR code reader to scan a photo of your QR code that will instantly take them to your website.  Put your QR code in your concert programs or on recruiting materials.

WordPress (www.wordpress.com)  A free online website and blogging tool.  Host your blog at WordPress.com and choose a subdomain name (such as yourorchestra.wordpress.com) or pay $18/year to get a more personalized domain name (www.yourorchestraname.com).  Wordpress is a very simple, yet powerful tool and currently runs over 60 million websites/blogs worldwide.  There are many tutorials available online to learn how to use its features.

Monoprice (www.monoprice.com) A merchant that sells high quality, yet inexpensive audio, video, and data cables.  They have adapters, cables, and a variety of devices at very low prices.  I have been purchasing from them for years with zero complaints.  They can’t be beat!

iOS Apps

Unfortunately, due to time restrictions, I was only able to show a handful of really cool Apps that are available for iOS devices.  See my iApps page for some of my favorites.  The links will take you directly to the Apple App Store for purchase and download.

Well that’s it.  Hopefully I did not miss anything!  As always, please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or concerns.   I love talking tech!