Welcome to the technology blog - I am looking forward to sharing great information about technology in our field. If you have anything you would like to share please don't hesitate to contact me! 

More to come! 

Thanks again to Jody Underwood from Romeo Music for providing the tech boutique! Check out this email he sent us with all of the ways Romeo Music can provide for your classroom technology needs. We are lucky to have a great partner like Romeo Music!

All Music Tech Sessions are in room Cheekwood E. We will have the Tech Boutique right next door. Come look at all the latest gear and talk to Jody from Romeo Music about your technology needs. See you soon!

Thursday, April 14

12:00: Enhancing Ensembles with Music Technology by Brandon Houghtalen.

• For some, music technology begins and ends with a tuner and a metronome. During this session, we will discuss three pathways to engage students and improve ensemble performance and outreach. The primary goal is to provide clear and easy to implement strategies that can help right now using devices and equipment you and your students already have.

1:00: TI:ME for Tennessee by Floyd Richmond

• All Tennessee music teachers interested in music technology should plan to attend this session. The focus will be working together to build stronger programs through the inclusion of music technology.

2:00: Technology for Beginning Band by Jim Burton and Alex Denton

• The session will explore both hardware and software used for fundamental knowledge and skill development in young musicians.

3:00: There's an App for that by Kris Gilbert

• Whether you are looking for apps that help reinforce learning, apps for collaborative composition, apps for basic through advanced theory, apps for performance, apps for management or apps for assessing...we will cover it all! Come and learn how to utilize these apps without sacrificing traditional teaching techniques!

4:00: Four Simple Ways to Record Your Students by Jody Underwood

• This session will cover four distinct ways to record student performances for assessment, review and archiving. Ranging from overly simple to more advanced, topics will include handheld recorders, computer, video and iPad/phone use.

5:00: Finale Basics by Larry Marchese

• This session will cover basics like score setup and note entry. However, we’ll also add various tips and tricks that will help you finish up your music efficiently. Lastly, we’ll show you how to create SmartMusic files in seconds.

6:00: The SmartMusic Solution for Regular Student Practice by Larry Marchese

• When it comes achieving regular productive student practice, SmartMusic is an ideal solution. All student work is captured and assessed in the SmartMusic gradebook, so record keeping is automatic. This introductory session will cover the features, benefits and implementation.

Friday

9:00: Garage Band, an iPad Superstar by Floyd Richmond

• Use GarageBand for iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch) to perform, compose, and arrange music for and with your students. Dissect existing songs, re-record tracks with student performers, compose songs with only loops, and distribute and share the results. This session provides selected samples from 40 songs from the presenter's music classroom, and includes specific directions for the activities.

10:00: Film Scoring and Sound Design in the Music Classroom. Jody Underwood

• John Williams, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, Jerry Goldsmith – just a few of the masters of their craft: Film Scoring. These musicians have one thing in common: They have a passion for adding the music in the mind and heart to the images on the silver screen. Guess what? Your students would love this as well, and may already be doing this at home! Why not bring this into the music classroom where it belongs? This session will explore a few basic film scoring techniques such as placing hit points and markers, building tension and even adding sound effects or “foley.”, all the while discussing how this can be done in your classroom, inexpensively and efficiently.

11:00: Moving on up! by Michael Krajewski

• Many educators are comfortable working with Garage Band, an easy to use way to record audio and midi. Although this is a great “amateur" way to record, moving to a full blown Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) could create better results. For many, this is a scary step. Many educators feel they are more music educators than technologists. This presentation will break down some of the barriers for those who would like to take the next step when recording their ensembles and lessons. We will look at a few common software titles that are not only affordable, but also fairly easy to get a handle on. The focus will include Studio One and Pro Tools. This presentation will focus on the necessary information for anyone to get up and running with these software titles.

1:00: Live Sound & Recording: It's More Than Plugs & Faders. by Mark Lochstamfor

• Music educators are typically asked to run the live sound equipment and record the school events, but often lack the training to do this. After all, they are music educators, not audio engineers. This session will demonstrate how to set a sound system in a performance space, with demonstrations of gain-staging, how to use compression; what is the difference between reverb and delay, what is a gate, etc. The session will also include explanations and audio examples of the recording sample rates and bit depth.

2:00: Creating, Responding, and Connecting by John Mlynczak

• Students today live in the most connected society that has ever existed, which allows us to create and respond to music in a collaborative environment. Using the NCAS artistic processes, this session will demonstrate how to integrate creativity and musical interaction into any music program, and it will be fun!

4:00: Meaningful Assessment with Technology. John Mlynczak

• Assessment in education is valuable when part of a constant cycle of positive feedback and growth. As education systems are heavily emphasizing assessment all over the country, it is important for music educators to continue to focus on our common goal: teaching music. This session will demonstrate a proven model for assessing musical growth in a positive and meaningful way and how to communicate with students on any device, anywhere.