iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

"To reap the benefits of music on learning, kids need consistent and abundant musical practice, according to the latest cognitive research."

I spend a lot of time thinking about Makerspaces.  

These engaging spaces that bring creativity, tinkering, and exploration to our communities make me push the possibilities and potential of what these spaces and experiences can bring to our young people.  

For me it is fun to think about all of the different elements we can add to our Makerspaces.  

There can be duck tape, 3D printers, art supplies, recycled goods, old computer parts, wood, Makey Makey kits, Sphero’s, knitting needles and yarn, LEGO’s, playdough, wood, hot glue guns, fabric, paper, wire, and the list goes on and on.  

Now think about this.  

Ask yourself….

Music, the universal language of mood, emotion and desire, connects with us through a wide variety of neural systems.

We now know from controlled treatment/outcome studies that listening to and playing music is a potent treatment for mental health issues. 400 published scientific papers have proven the old adage that “music is medicine.” In fact, research demonstrates that adding music therapy to treatment improves symptoms and social functioning among schizophrenics. Further, music therapy has demonstrated efficacy as an independent treatment for reducing depression, anxiety and chronic pain.

Importantly, music education also appears to accelerate brain development in young children, particularly in the areas of the brain responsible for processing sound, language development, speech perception and reading skills, according to initial results of a five-year study by USC neuroscientists.

Many teachers shy away from including music in their classrooms because they presume they need musical training to use music as a teaching tool. However, there are multiple ways to implement music in the classroom that don’t require any training.

For those of you teaching music, the visual below is a good resource to keep handy. It features a number of interesting iPad apps to help you with the teaching of music. The list contains apps with guides on how to operate different musical instruments, apps on musical theory to help learners grasp the theoretical basis of different musical lessons. There are also apps to help with the reading and composition of music and several other useful musical tools

Music and dance teachers who are respected by female pupils should be trained to teach computer science to inspire more girls to pursue a career in the technology sector, educators have said.

More than 150 teachers and schoolgirls recently attended an event at Microsoft’s UK headquarters designed to show young women what life at a technology company was like.

Speaking just weeks after the Government used its Budget to announce significant funding to support the training of Computer Science teachers, Cindy Rose, the chief executive of Microsoft UK, kicked off this year’s DigiGirlz by highlighting the lack of women in the technology sector.

Educators told Microsoft at the event that school leaders needed to create more positive role models in computer science and give them modern classrooms to work in if the UK was to encourage more women to pursue a career in science, engineering, technology or maths (STEM).

Here are four good iPad apps for music teachers. These are apps that are featured in iTunes App Store and which enable you to: learn and master several musical instruments such as piano, guitar, bass or ukulele; create a masterpiece from selected tracks on your playlist and share it with others, identify music and get song lyrics, make melodies and beats with an easy to use loop editor and many more.

Below is a selection of some good Mac apps curated specifically for Music teachers. These are applications you can use to help you with songwriting and editing on Mac, designing new sounds, processing audio, building synthesizers, recording digital audio, and many more. Check them out and share with us your feedback in our Facebook page.

Ableton, A Berlin-based music software company, just released a free interactive music course that runs right in your browser.
One thing that immediately struck me about their web app was how well it was built. For example, if you change the tab, the music will fade out, then fade back in when you return. And if you start one sequencer, then scroll down and start another sequencer, it will automatically pause the first one.
It also has fun, easy to understand interfaces for programming music.

Don’t skip out on art and music while your kids are home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Art and music help kids develop discipline, creativity, confidence, critical thinking skills. It helps build connections with others, improves memory and teaches about different cultures. It strengthens language, reading and math skills. Plus, the arts make us feel better and we could all use a little more of that these days. Here are online art and music resources to inspire kids at home.

Multiple instruments are interlaced within this 3,000 part, hand-crafted invention by Swedish musician Martin Molin. With continuous cranking, lever flips, and other machine tweaks, his original composition comes to life via 2,000 steel marbles racing, bouncing, and riding through its sound-producing pathways. This is the Wintergatan Marble Machine. Via Colossal:

As the devices cycles it activates a vibraphone, bass, kick drum, cymbal and other instruments that play a score programmed into a 32 bar loop comprised of LEGO technic parts. The marbles are moved internally through the machine using funnels, pulleys, and tubes.

It’s never too early to teach children about the world of music. And the new educational app Tiny Orchestra, kids can learn about a ​number of musical instrument from all around the world

As with any tool, the outcomes are only as good as the planning that you put in. You can teach fantastic lessons with or without an iPad. Unfortunately, you can also teach awful lessons with or without an iPad. This is just as true in Music as it is in other subjects.


Perhaps, however, Music teachers have an advantage. While other subject teachers are more accustomed to books, videos and websites as resources, Music teachers are accustomed to using a much wider gamut of tools - instruments. If we can encourage Music teachers to view the iPad as another instrument and a vehicle by which children can make genuinely music progress, then we are well on the way to making the most of this 21st century resource.


So, how can music teachers deliver real learning with the Apple iPad?

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Music Crab is simple and free iPad designed to help students learn to read music. The app features a little crab that students move by playing virtual piano keys in the app. To move the crab students have to play the correct notes. If they play too many incorrect notes in a row, the game is over and they have to start again.

While other subject teachers are more accustomed to books, videos and websites as resources, Music teachers are accustomed to using a much wider gamut of tools - instruments. If we can encourage Music teachers to view the iPad as another instrument and a vehicle by which children can make genuinely music progress, then we are well on the way to making the most of this 21st century resource.


So, how can music teachers deliver real learning with the Apple iPad?