EduCreations and Recorders

EduCreations has changed how I teach recorder.  The first year I used it as a homework helper for students who were falling behind the rest.  I was able to make lessons with pictures of the music, annotate, and play along with a student listening!

I had to set up a FREE account for me and all my students.  The third grade teacher and I were both trying out EduCreations at the same time so it was worth the couple minutes to type in each student's login name and password.  We were able to teach the students together how to log-in on a computer or iPad. 

Recording a lesson is a little bit daunting at first, but I had to come to terms with the fact that I was going to say the "wrong thing" or stumble through my words.  I stumble through my words anyway when I'm teaching "live" so that just made it a little more real!  haha!  Once I got comfortable with making a lesson (and remembering to close the door to my classroom so no one accidentally walked in on me!) the process went really quick!

I made lessons for rhythm, some beginning BAG pieces, and a 3 part extended lesson on our performance piece.  On the EduCreations website, I can see which student has viewed a lesson and when.  GREAT for homework checks or rewarding students going above and beyond!

Here's a link to one of my EduCreations lessons for Merrily We Roll Along.  It's not perfect, but its exactly how I would teach a private lesson.

Last year, I upped the ante just a bit and had my students create EduCreations lessons to send back to me!  They put a photo of the song, a short introduction, and they recorded their audio and emailed it to me.  I was also able to check their progress and any uploaded lessons on the website.  Still refining the process, but I LOVED assessing their Recorder Karate progress this way rather than taking class time.  I allotted some class time for everyone to record (as I had conferencing one-on-one) but encouraged students to record at home and move even faster!  Here's a link to a student performing for me.  You'll hear all her classmates in the background practicing and performing as well, but you can still very clearly distinguish her recorder.

Did I mention EduCreations is a FREE app??  What more can you ask for!  Individualized teaching, assessment, progress tracking, electronic portfolio, and FREE!  Oh, and there are thousands of lessons that other teachers have created and shared for you to browse and use!  I love technology!