Tools, Sites, Apps and Stuff you have to read w/c 11th March 2012

Each week my Flipboard app, Twitter responses and Google reader deliver a collection of new web tools, apps, books and must read articles.

Here is this weeks Stuff I have seen:

Digital Media in the Music Classroom by James Cross

I don’t tend to buy books in their physical form any more Since getting my Kindle I have switched to downloading and space-saving. But, occasionally something comes along that is so interesting and fresh, but so not available on Kindle that you need to buy the actual book.

I haven’t read the book cove to cover, instead I skimmed through the collection of what I think are very new ideas for teaching music in a digital context. I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable about free tools and great edu apps, but apart from YouTube and Garage Band
the apps and tools in this book are all new to me.

It feels like this book is aimed at secondary music teachers, but for me a non specialist primary dabbler it still worked. James’s ideas are fleshed out in just enough readable detail so that you could repeat or refashion them into your lesson . An essential text for teachers who want their music to be all a bit digital.

Novation: Launchpad Music App

I love music apps that actually sound like current music rather than a 90s advert soundtrack. Charlie and I downloaded Launchpad last week and we have both found it very difficult to put this rather addictive app down. This was Charlie playing with the app for the first time last week, sounding a bit Paul Van Dyk.

This along withFigure and Garage Band would be another great app to use in Year 4 to cover the Switched On ICT unit – We Are Musicians.

Now here is the official app Youtube Clip, though I think Charlie is more engaging to watch:

Hopscotch

The makers of Daisy the Dinosaur,one of the few programming apps for primary children, are working on a new app. I took a look at a preview this week and I like what I see. More to come on this… but here are a couple of screenshots

Croak.it App

A fantastic utility for working with sound on your iPad – record 30 seconds of audio, publish it and get a url to use on your site or blog. Imagine the possibilities for using this in school. You could have a wall of pictures of hopes for the future for example – each one a picture drawn by pupils, each picture could be hyper linked to the sound files hosted on croak.it. I am sure there are more ideas and lots of SEN uses too. It is free too!

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Wired Article – 18 ways to work Smarter

I read this on my Kindle yesterday while the boys were at swimming. Read it with an open mind and reflect on your organisation/school – could you learn a thing or two from Google, Valve or the Government Digital Service.

Google Glass

Surely everyone has seen this video now, but I just think it has huge potential as a writing stimulus. I am also still pinching myself that we are going to see this kind of technology on our lifetime.

 

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