Staying “On-Task” With Classroom Procedures For The iPad

Every good teacher knows his Harry Wong.  That is, Harry Wong, the author of “The First Days of School: How To Be An Effective Teacher.” For beginning and veteran teachers everywhere, Mr. Wong has written a practical survival manual.  A main crux of his approach is the development and implementation of classroom procedures.  When students have a clear idea of how the class is supposed to run, they tend to have less discipline issues and learn more.  I’ve been brainstorming about procedures for using the iPad in my classroom, and here’s what I’ve come up with so far.

As I anticipate students using the iPads en masse, I envision having difficulty keeping the kids on task with a particular assignment.  The fact that the kids will be holding the iPads facing themselves means I won’t be able to see what they’re doing.  Internet browsing, playing a favorite (albeit music-related) game or composition software, or just fiddling with different settings (eg, the background image) are all quite seductive. My solution is to implement a procedure I call “Flip ‘em 3-2-1.”

Here’s how it works.  At any time, the students will be using their iPads, to read a piece of music, or to work on a composition or theory assignment.  Regularly, and without warning, I will give the command, “Flip ‘em,” and count “3, 2, 1.”  If, by the count of 1, a students’ iPad isn’t flipped over with the screen facing me, or if the screen (which will automatically adjust orientation so that ‘down’ is still ‘down’ when flipped over) isn’t on the correct app or assignment, they get ’5 minutes off’.  The iPad is turned in (or the case is closed) for 5 minutes, and then the student may resume using it.  A second infraction in the class period means the loss of the iPad for the day.  I’ll have secondary paper-pencil assignments for the kids to do in case they have their iPad taken away for the day.

I think that the procedure will prove effective quickly, because the motivation for using this piece of technology is so high.  Once kids see the procedure is implemented consistently, they will stay within the confines of the assignment for fear of losing the iPad for the day.

More To Come…

Just a short word that this blog is continuing despite a dip in content.  I currently have 5 posts in the writing stages, on subjects including composition lesson plans, classroom discipline, and reviews of current iPhone piano playing software.  I’m happy to see the site has some daily traffic, and I hope you’ll keep coming back!  In the mean time, as you’re looking around, I’d love to hear your ideas and thoughts about this project.  Please take a second to say ‘hi’ in the comments to this post, and if you have an idea for a contribution to the site, I’d love to hear it!

Thanks,

Dave

Imagining the Perfect Music Reader

My vision for an iPad music reader

Let’s pretend we’ve decided to do for sheet music publishing what the iTunes store has done for the recorded music market: create a one-stop-shop of sheet music specially designed for the iPad.  What would be the ideal reader App for this music?  How would the music be formatted? What would the user interface look like, and what capabilities would it have? That’s what I’ve been pondering.  Let’s see what we can come up with.

First, I imagine the format of the music will be MIDI-capable and resolution independent.  MIDI capability would allow the user to playback the music at tempo, or slow it down for practice.  The ability to hear the music greatly aids in learning.  Simple tools to change tempo or key could also be easily implemented.  Resolution independence means the music can be scaled to a single system (in landscape mode, scrolling with performance) or as an entire page (scrolling vertically in portrait mode).  It also means users could see a score in very small type or make a difficult passage more easily readable with a quick tap.

Since we’re dreaming about this, why not integrate the iPad’s microphone into the experience, and have the computer evaluate the musician’s performance, ala Smartmusic Studio?  Feedback about pitch and rhythmic accuracy, as well as the ability to record ones’ self and play back with accompaniment would be an amazing rehearsal tool.

One main innovation I’d like to see in this ideal music reader is the integration of a virtual piano keyboard.  The keyboard could appear in landscape mode, after pressing a ‘button’.  The current system is displayed on top, as the keyboard is displayed below it.   The keyboard could be used in one of two ways: First, music scroll playback could show the keys being ‘depressed’ as the music plays, showing the notes to play the entire piece or just one or two parts.  Second, the keyboard could be playable, so the process could be reversed, playing notes on the keyboard rather than having them played for you, perhaps even evaluating your performance for accuracy.

An integrated music store could instantly deliver new pieces to your iPad and allow for ratings and variable pricing (less for public domain and ‘chestnuts’, more for major works and new compositions or editions.

And here’s the ‘one more thing’: in my fantasy world, the ability to sync iPad music readers among a group of musicians using bluetooth or WiFi would make this the ultimate rehearsal tool: Instead of just counting 122 measures, the triangle player can watch the entire score as the performance nears his part, scrolling right in time.

What other features can you imagine?  Who do you think might pull this off?  Can you imagine a system that isn’t closed to only iPad music store files, but allows for Finale or Sibelius exporting?  Let your imagination run wild…

That Didn’t Take Long!

Musicians are excited about the iPad and its possible use as a music reader.  Already a website is announcing their intention to open an iPad sheet music store.  At first glance, the offerings appear to be public domain works, already available free at sites like The Choral Public Domain Library, but if the works are edited to be free of errors (and user editable!), and optimized for the iPad, this could be a great resource for music teachers.  Check it out at iphonesheetmusic.com.

Why The iPad Has This Educator So Excited

The iPad’s announcement has been met with excitement from many media outlets, as well as a large amount of criticism from online tech communities.  Criticism of the iPad includes its lack of expandability with no USB ports or removable storage, the fact that it does not have common netbook features such as a built in camera, flash support, or a physical keyboard. The inability to multitask (for now), and the closed nature of the OS and App store have also caused some grumbles.  The obvious puns about the devices’ name have been fodder for both College Humor and the NBC Evening News.  Reading iPad related articles and user comments on tech-minded sites such as Digg and Slashdot, these critics condemn the iPad to be Apple’s next Newton – doomed to humiliating failure.  However, from my point of view, these omissions, and Apple’s design vision of a computing device that does a few things very well is precisely what is needed in an educational environment.

As I imagine students using iPads in my classroom, I appreciate the fact that they will not be able to plug in a flash card from home, potentially exposing the system to junk (at best) or security breaches (at worst).  Lack of multitasking will mean the students who should be doing their classwork can only do one thing at a time.  The lack of a camera is somewhat disappointing to me, especially because the rumored facial recognition of users would have been amazing with 150 students, but its absence will mean one less distraction to their music education.  The closed nature of the App store and iPhone OS (which the iPad also uses) is, in fact, ideal when attempting to keep 40 students focused on their work and not on other endeavors.  Students could only download and install more apps if they used a iTunes store username and password, and downloading from the web will not be allowed.  I imagine blocking Safari access through my server may be needed except in cases when I want them to visit specific sites, and I appreciate being able to load only specific apps on each iPad.

With the iPad interface’s simplicity, I imagine my students moving easily from a writing activity to a theory lesson, to playing notes on a keyboard, to flipping through PDF copies of music.  Their learning curve will be significantly reduced because the interface is free of complication: tap, swipe, drag, pinch, twist, or press the home button.  The technology gets out of the way, and the learning can occur, motivated and monitored by the use of the device.

Ideally, Apple will recognize the importance of use in education markets and allow networked iPads to log into a central server with unique usernames and passwords, as well as make setting up that network easy to do from a single computer.  I’d like to see even greater control of the user interface, password protecting the deletion of movement of apps on the screen, etc.  I hope for my students to log into any iPad and find their progress in theory assignments, PDF music files which they’ve put their own score markings into, and all the work they’ve done so far.

Oh, and one more thing: the lack of a keyboard is a definite plus: a lab of old iBooks was constantly plagued by the loss of keys, removed by students (fortunately, many were caught, having removed their own initials!)  A lack of ANY removable physical parts is definitely a plus in a classroom.

The iPad Music Education Project: Welcome!

Steve Jobs introduces the iPad

Hello!  Welcome to the iPad Music Education Project blog.  In this post, you’ll find out what the iPMEP is all about, and what I hope to accomplish with this blog.

iPMEP was conceived on January 27, 2010, when Steve Jobs announced Apple’s latest creation, the iPad.  As an Mac and iPhone user, I was instantly intrigued by the power of its user interface as well as its low (starting at $500) price point.  I began to imagine how this tablet computer could be used in my middle school choir classroom, and here we are.

The iPMEP has the following goals:

-Facilitate theory and ear training

-Teach basic piano skills

-Replace paper worksheets and tests

-Replace paper octavos (with public domain music or permission from publishers)

-Use cloud technology to make student work accessible from any iPad, and make teacher evaluation automatic and easy.

-Integrate all National Standards for Music Education using the iPad technology, including performing, improvising, composing, reading, listening to, and evaluating music, as well as understanding its relationship with the other arts and the world at large.

In order to achieve these goals, grant money is being sought to finance the purchase of iPad computers and related accessories, and I am looking to partner with developers who have experience programming iPhone/iPad apps.

On this blog, I plan to publish information about finding grants, reviews of available apps which might be used for the project, and hopefully, information about the setup, implementation, and maintenance of an iPad music education lab, and how it affects my students’ music education.

I hope you find this blog informative and entertaining.  I am excited to begin my quest to bring this technology to my students, and I’m glad to have you along for the ride!

Dave