Technology such as Quizlet, Musictheory.net and SmartMusic are making it easier for teachers to track the progress of individual students. Previously, a music educator would most likely assess individual progress through playing tests. Done in person, and often with multiple ensembles of fifty students or more, playing tests were near impossible to administer weekly, or even monthly.
Technology offers educators tremendous opportunities for tracking student progress, especially music teachers. The addition of computer labs and laptop carts make it possible for students to study vocabulary and theory on programs like Quizlet and musictheory.net. Once a teacher has taught her students how to practice, SmartMusic reinforces healthy practice habits at home. SmartMusic also allows parents with little music training to understand and monitor exactly what their child should be doing while practicing, such as slowing down tempos and looping. Quizlet, musictheory.net and SmartMusic all have features that allow students to take assessments and send the results to the teacher. This way, the teacher is able to monitor how each student is progressing much faster than traditional playing tests. If used well, these programs allow us to offer more specific feedback to individual students in a timely fashion.
For more ideas about using technology in the music classroom, please read Bradburn's article, Everyday Education - Teaching Music in the Age of Technology.
Love the post Gail and I completely agree. The practicality of being able to monitor growth of 50+ students on a weekly basis is out of the question. Even monthly could get tricky. This could leave large gaps for students to slack off if they knew they weren't going to be checked and then cramming in learning one piece when they knew their week was coming. By involving technology, it allows teachers to have consistent benchmarks and will also help students to fall into a steady schedule right from the beginning!
ReplyDeleteYou should look into memrise.com and anki. They are other flash card programs that have better built-in stat tracking for helping remember things. They allow you to set up whatever terms you need testing in and have a lot already built. Personally I've used memrise a lot for language practice and key signature study, but I've always heard anki highly recommended. There's a phone app for memrise as well that makes it wonderful.
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