2020 was quite the year, but I am so incredibly proud of all of the progress teachers across the globe made towards integrating technology into their music teaching. It is incredibly humbling for me to see how lucky the students of the world are to learn from all of you. Thank you for your determination and selflessness during one of the most challenging years of our time. I’m proud to be here to cheer you on!
Here is the 2020 year in review; a countdown of our most popular podcast episodes that helped teachers survive and thrive in an incredibly difficult, yet triumphant year.
Countdown: Top 10 Midnight Music Podcast Episodes of 2020
10. MTT112: DIY Music Puzzles and Games Part 4: Digital Jigsaws
We’re going to wind up our series on DIY music puzzles and games today with the final episode in the series. This one is all about creating your own digital jigsaw puzzles that students can complete online.
9. MTT108: Making Teaching Videos with the Flipgrid Camera
Flipgrid is a fantastic free tool for teachers – it’s a video response platform that allows you to set an assignment for students where they will respond with a video. One of the great things about Flipgrid is the camera that you use to make videos. In this episode of the Music Tech Teacher Podcast, I’ll share 3 types of videos you can make for your students.
8. MTT103: 6 Fun Student Assignments Using Canva
I’ve been talking about the ways you can use it as a teacher to create your own teaching materials, but it also works really well for student assignments.
Instead of giving students a written assignment, you could ask them to create something visual to show what they know.
7. MTT109: DIY Music Puzzles and Games Part 1: Bingo
Looking for music puzzles or games that you can use to reinforce musical concepts in a fun way? There are a number of free websites that let you create your own puzzles super-fast. In the next few podcast episodes, I’ll introduce you to a few of my favourites, starting today with the flexible bingo creation tool Bingo Baker.
6. MTT111: DIY Music Puzzles and Games Part 3: Word Search
Today’s episode continues on with our series about do-it-yourself music puzzles or games that you can use to reinforce musical concepts in a fun way. In this third episode of the series I walk you through how to make your own word search puzzles that can be completed digitally, or printed out.
5. MTT113: Tips for Returning To School In A Changing Environment with Shawna Longo
Shawna Longo is a General Music Technology teacher and Arts Integration Specialist at Durban Avenue School, in Hopatcong, New Jersey. She has been preparing to go back to school where she will now be teaching her elementary students from a cart. Shawna shares her tips for getting ready to teach in an ever-changing environment.
4. MTT114: Adapting The Band And Orchestra Program To A Blended Learning Modelling with Thomas West
I’m very pleased to talk to Thomas J. West on the podcast today. Tom is the blended learning coordinator, instrumental music teacher and a teacher of jazz studies at Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School’s Center for Performing and Fine Arts and he has been teaching music online since 2008 (yes, well before COVID-19 hit).
3. MTT106: 3 ways you can create a Music Video to Celebrate Your Student Ensembles
Have you had your school concerts cancelled? All those rehearsals and nothing to show for it ?
So what can you do?
There are a few different ways you can capture all the hard work that your ensembles have put in over the past months.
2. MTT105: Tips for creating effective teaching videos that your students will WANT to watch
This episode is a follow-on from episode 104 where I shared 5 important tech tools to consider for teaching remotely. Today I want to share some specific tips for creating teaching videos.
Being able to create short, effective teaching videos is an important skill to have and it’s become even more important now that many educators are teaching remotely, or planning to.
THE TOP EPISODE OF 2020
With the outbreak of the Coronavirus, there are a number of schools that have closed indefinitely and many other schools are preparing for possible future closures. This has meant that educators are now teaching remotely – they are at home, teaching students who are in their own homes. There’s a lot of discussion about this online and many teachers are being asked to formulate plans for remote teaching just in case.
In this episode, I cover the 5 types of tech tools that can help you teach remotely.
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Looking for More Resources for Music Teachers?
Hello! I’m Katie Argyle – an Australian music technology trainer and consultant with a passion for helping music teachers through my business Midnight Music.
I’m a qualified teacher but no, I don’t currently teach in a school. I help teachers through my online professional development space – the Midnight Music Community – where there are tutorial videos, courses, links and downloadable resources.
I like to focus on easy ways to incorporate technology into what you are already doing in your music curriculum through a range of creative projects. I also run live workshops and have presented at countless conferences and other music education events.
If you want simple, effective ideas for using technology in music education, I would LOVE to help you inside the Midnight Music Community.