Whoa. Big news from MakeMusic.

https://www.makemusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Weezic-Acquisition-Press-Release-final.pdf?utm_source=cheetah&utm_medium=email


I don't know about your district, but mine has really gone in for Chromebooks.  We are 1:1 with that family of devices in my building (grades 5-7) and will hopefully be there next fall with 8-12.

That has actually been a problem in my corner of the building as a SmartMusic user.  Chromebooks just didn't run SmartMusic.  iPads could, Windows and Macs could.  Just not Chromebooks.  It had something to do with not being able to install anything on a Chromebook... At least, that's what I was hearing from people off the record.

We have been getting kids hooked up with subscriptions and then they would have to find another device to run SmartMusic other than their Chromebook.  I'm sure that is really popular with the parents. (Where is that sarcasm punctuation?)  The kid has a device that doesn't work in all classes for school work.  The easiest advice to give kids was use your iPad, not your Chromebook.

While staying up late and reading a little Tom Clancy, (Don't you love summer break?) I heard my e-mail chime and the folks over at SmartMusic were sending out a PR blast.  They have acquired Weezic, who have apparently solved some of MakeMusic's issues with Chromebooks!

Is it ready to go?  Doesn't say.  When?  Probably will be a while until it is running, I'm guessing.  But it is really exciting news and I think it solves a bunch of issues for my program.  Will it work well here?  I don't know.  The units we have are pretty "sketchy" as far as speed and sound cards-- according to my students.  To give you an idea, I have had kids bring their personal iPads to class instead of their Chromebook. Will this run well at home?  Hopefully, all my families have a great ISP and are on fast connections.

Yes, there probably are a number of things yet to happen.  Still, I am excited.  It is good to see this news from SmartMusic!

First SmartMusic Assignment Is Out The Door.

I have my first SmartMusic assignment out the door for all of my students as of last Friday.

Because of the parent-student-teacher happening next week, I made it due this Friday.  I usually schedule these assignments with two weeks' notice, but it is very nice to have something to talk about with parents and students at these conferences.

I am also hoping that the short notice will be better for the first assignment.  In the past, the first one has been the hard one to get kids to turn in.  I'm not sure if that is because two weeks is too long or if there are some things that need to be set up for things to work right.  Getting software installed, an account open and registered for class seems like a lot of work for a middle schooler.  And every middle schooler  knows that there is no time like the future to do that hard work... they will get to it tomorrow (or the day/week/month after that.)

So I am thinking that after conferences there may be a little parent help with the missing assignments.

I do have some tips for making the load lighter on the students:

• We buy SmartMusic for all of our middle school band students (it is rolled into their class fees.)  This is much easier than counting on families to visit the web site and purchase it on their own.
• We entered the code for this bulk purchase as a class.  You can do this with any web browser, just visit SmartMusic.com page and follow the "redeem a code" link.
• We have been doing this for several years.  So we have several classes of kids in the system already.  Instead of having the kids enroll for classes, import those kids into the next class.  That way, they end up in exactly the right class.  It is crazy the number of 6th graders who still think of themselves as 5th graders!
• Pay special attention to first year kids.  Once they have an account set-up, they will have their information in there for the rest of their career.  I check the beginners' logins to be certain they work. 
• We do a standard login e-mail address (Google apps for education) and the password is the same as that account.  Trouble-shooting gets easier when you set things up that way.  In the past, most of our login issues were related to email accounts that students no longer had access to or just forgot about.  Something standard helps.
• Redeem a code doesn't mean they have enrolled in class.  Check the SmartMusic grade book against your class list. Make sure you have them all in there. 
• Enrolled in class doesn't mean they have redeemed a code.  If you do the bulk purchase, check your active subscriptions against your class list.  If they have redeemed the code, they can login to SmartMusic from any computer that has the program installed.  Get them activated.
• When kids go home all they should have to do is download SmartMusic from the site and use their login information that is already set up.  That's it.  That's the goal.

It is a little extra work to get this running smoothly.  But I think it is worth it to do the work up front.

SmartMusic Enrollment Time!

www.smartmusic.com

(Background: At my middle school we are requiring everyone to have an account and we are paying for it with a student fee so students can access SmartMusic anywhere and not just on our practice room computers.  Talk to your SmartMusic rep for pricing as it is possible to lower the cost to families by buying in bulk.)

It is enrollment time for SmartMusic.  And all of our kids have been assigned Chromebooks.  You would think that is a combination that just doesn't work.  And you would be right.  SmartMusic doesn't run on the Chromebooks.

But "Redeem a Code"does.  If want to be sure that your students have activated their accounts so they can login to SmartMusic everywhere, the Chromebook can help.  Have your class fire up their web browser and go to the SmartMusic web site and follow the "Redeem a Code" link.  If they have had an account there in the past, they login as an existing customer.  New customers can start their account there too.

Some tips:

• We were surprised by how many students do not know how to e-mail their parents.  Have a list of parent e-mail addresses handy.
• Do have the kids do this exactly together.  Field by field.
• Do have the kids use the save and save changes buttons.  We did have a hiccup with our internet service at one point and I was able to put the finishing touches on the data entry after the kids left.  Having something started will save you time and "cleaning up" the account entry will save time from the next class meeting.  I'm not sure how kids got around the save buttons, but there were a couple of cases of there was no information saved about their account.  Pretty sure those students missed a button or were waaaay behind.
• If you have a projector, use it to show them how to fill this out.
• Do walk around and look at kids screens.  That may mean getting some help because being up front working at the computer and in back watching the kids' devices is not possible.  Maybe you should pick a kid to fill his out on screen while you coach from the back of the room.
• We use the school's street address for kids that don't know their own address when filling account info out. (I know!  Where do you live should be something in every kid's head.) This can be on the whiteboard before class starts.
• We use the student's e-mail and have a consistent password figured out for the kids to use.  Our login is very much like their Google Apps For Education login.  This helps with trouble-shooting should something come up.

I know a bunch of that could have been written by Captain Obvious.  Hopefully, these tips are good reminders on how to teach with technology.  

Don't worry about cutting the parents out of the loop on this account.  MakeMusic will send them an e-mail informing them about the account if the kids are under 14.

This is the first year we have done this "Redeem a Code" thing as a class project.  You could just send some directions home, but I think this is the way to go.  You will know that things are set-up and ready to go for that first assignment!

Where Have I Been?

Yikes!

It has been a while since I have posted here.

Personally, it has been an eventful summer for me and my family.

My kids are at that awkward stage of being involved in activities and not having a driver's license.  Being the handy (as in nearby...not the good with tools kind) parent, they still put up with me enough to get a ride to their next gig.

Dad taxi.  I suppose I could get the new big iPhone 6 Plus to blog on while waiting on the kids, but it would be just my luck to find out that I am capable of folding the thing in my pocket.

At work, my building was having major surgery this summer.  Have you ever had to completely empty a band room at the end of the year and then completely refill it to start the year?  Yikes.  Finally have air conditioning in the music area.  Probably worth the trouble.

What's news?

The interesting thing that I have heard is that MakeMusic is moving to Bolder, CO.  I am going to miss that company being in my backyard.

In other MakeMusic news, they are trying to get SmartMusic out of the practice rooms and into homes.  I think the costs of that are the stumbling block.  If access to the student side educational/course management features were much lower they have something to sell there.  I don't know what that price is, but with the fees this school is charging for a free public education, I understand the reluctance to add more.  We will still do the SmartMusic everywhere plan at my building, but it is pricey.

More news?

We just had Dr. Chris Russell out for a training session with my district's music staff.  He has had a wide variety of music ed experiences and has a technology solution figured out for just about every problem that a music teacher may have.  Our group is small and diverse in assignments and he did have something for everyone.  I thought the amazing part of his time with us was his ability to change topics during his conversation as needed.  Very flexible and that is a sign of someone who knows his stuff.

Dr. Chris presents at most of the conferences in my neighborhood and occasionally out of state and nationally.  If he comes to your neighborhood, you should go hear him.  Not coming to a theater near you?  Read his stuff http://techinmusiced.wordpress.com/ or get one of his books.

Even more news?

I think I am finally getting a handle on my digital camera.  Shot a lot at soccer games.  This summer.  It pays to shoot RAW, be using enough lens (300mm), shoot when the light is interesting (after 6 pm) and push the button.  Push the button a lot.  Edit mercilessly.

SmartMusic Training!

https://www.smartmusic.com/training/smartmusic-workshops/

Are you looking for license renewal hours?  Are you required by your state to get some hours in "technology" even though you teach music?  MakeMusic is offering workshops that may just be the perfect fit for you.

There are two tracks.  One is called "SmartMusic Fundamentals" and the other is called "Extending Your Reach Using SmartMusic Online Gradebook."

The two days of workshops are offered a large number of places.  Hopefully, you are near one of the locations or can work a trip around one of the locations.  (Vegas!  Here we come!)

If you are new to SmartMusic take the "Fundamentals" class for sure.  SmartMusic will change the way you teach music.  There are some very creative things that can be done with SmartMusic in the single computer classroom, a 3 or 4 station practice area, or even a one to one equipped school.  You can adapt this computer program to your situation.

The "Extending" portion will dive into the SmartMusic Gradebook.  This is more than a gradebook, it is a learning management system that will make it possible for you to send assignments that meet your specifications and it will keep the completed assignments organized for you.  If you think you are going to send assignments, you will want this course too.

If you haven't seen SmartMusic lately, or haven't heard about it before, this music educational software is worth serious consideration.  I've said it before, SmartMusic will change the way you teach.

Need more info?  Can't take the courses as scheduled?  Visit the SmartMusic web site and look through the tutorials there or get more info on registration, where and when on the workshops.  Lots of support for teachers and students there.

Have You Ever Wished For Musical Slow Motion?

www.SmartMusic.com
www.sbomagazine.com

I was listening to some student assignments that were in my SmartMusic in box.  I had one that was tricky to diagnose what was happening and I was wishing I had slow motion to sort it out.  I saved it for later and went on.

A short while later I was looking in SBO Magazine and reading through the article on "Power User Synthesis."  It's a great article and worth the read, especially if you are stumped about how to get your repertoire into SmartMusic.   In the article there was discussion about scanning and notation software.  After some discussion about Finale, Sibelius and MusicXML the article talked about creating SmartMusic files and uses for those... including listening to the recording at slower speed.

Then it hit me that SmartMusic could do the slow motion trick I needed.  No, I couldn't just slow the tempo of a recording down and listen to it that way.  But with a little file magic, I found a way to do just that.

Here's how.  First, export your audio file as an .mp3 file.  Then go to SmartMusic's MP3 Audio Files link.  Import the file you just created.  You can now listen to the performance slower or faster.  All you have to do is adjust the tempo (it is listed by a percentage.)

The slower listen uses are pretty obvious.  You can slow things down to hear what really happened.

The faster uses might not be so obvious.  How about checking to see if that faster tempo really works musically?  Here is a chance to try some things without the whole band waiting for you to do that, just take care of that in your score study time.  Or show your students how they could sound.

Take a read through the SBO article for more ideas.  If the ideas don't save your time, they will help you do a higher quality job.  Worth the read.

Happy Digital Learning Day (2/5/14)

http://www.digitallearningday.org/

Happy Digital Learning Day.

Actually, I think most days are digital learning days in my room.  Have been since 1992 or so.

It all started with CD audio recordings.  Clean sound and quick access to what you really wanted to hear.  Big advantages over tape or vinyl.

Then there was Finale on a computer that was in my office.  I was teasing the choir teacher today about her being too young to have actually transposed for instruments and singers in her head.  I think my college theory and arranging experiences would have been WAAAY less time intensive had there been such a thing when I was earning my first degree.

Then the powers that be put an internet connected computer on my desk.  Teacher access to the internet was pretty bold choice in 1994.  The internet has turned out to be very valuable.  I believe Letterman said "This internet idea is a keeper."  I agree.

That value wasn't lost on me.  I have run with that set-up.  I have spent time learning how to code some html and I have developed excellent FileMaker Pro chops.  The web has made those skills pretty valuable.  Communicating and keeping track with parents and other teachers has been made easier with the network.

Next came iPods and digital audio recording.  We still have the Roland 880 here, but Garageband (or Audacity, Pro Tools, Logic) have made having that box pretty much unnecessary.  Playback can be a pretty powerful mirror.  I have yet to hear a kid say the recorder is making us sound bad since I got away from cheap tape recorders.

I use videos of other schools bands as examples for my students.  I'm not getting those in the mail.  Of course I find them on YouTube.  Thank you to all who have put their group's work up there.  It adds another dimension to the discussions about what we are doing in our band room.

I use Twitter to get ideas and keep up with the news. Actually, it may be more accurate to describe that as stealing great ideas from my PLN.  Thanks Tweeps for putting those ideas out there.

(By the way, you can get info about Digital Learning Day on Twitter @OfficialDLDay or it looks like the hash tag is going to be #DLDay.  Check it out and let's get that trending.)

SmartMusic.  I know it has changed the way I teach music.  That program has changed too.  It went from an $2000 add-on box for your computer, to an add on cartridge reader, to a download for your student's iPad over the last 20 years.  Sending and getting assignments over the internet has helped me to really understand how my students are doing as individuals.  SmartMusic has also helped my students develop their own knowledge of rhythm and pitch on their own.

If your classroom isn't digital yet,  There are a couple of good thinking models out there for you to get started: SAMR by Dr. Puentedura or RAT by Dr. Hughes.  I know there are some who think that kids don't really need technology to learn or I can teach without it.  Please rethink that.  I cannot think of an entry level job that doesn't require you to interface with some form of digital technology.  I use the digits to make the invisible visible and help kids become musically independent faster,  How are you using them?  How could you be using them?

To me, the really big deal on the web is sharing. I share what I know about what I do right here.  This sharing only happens with digital technology.  I wouldn't know where to send my stories.  You wouldn't know where to find them if this was published any other way.   I am coming up on 34,000 page views over the last two years.  I think that is pretty amazing considering the really narrow focus of most my topics.  I hope that, if you came to my blog looking for ideas and help, you found what you needed.

Thanks for reading and happy Digital Learning Day.

Too Many Cold Days Off. Improving a Concert's Chances With SmartMusic.

www.SmartMusic.com

The mp3 feature may not seem like a big deal in SmartMusic, but after losing 5 days to cold weather last month, it could turn into this month's concert saver.  The problem is not every piece we are doing on the concert is available in the SmartMusic catalog.  The ability to import an mp3 can help work around that.

I have mp3s of most of the concert selections that aren't in SmartMusic for the February concert.

There are many ways to get mp3s for this.  Publisher's demo recordings and your band's previous years' recordings (if they are good enough to be great examples.) come to mind.  If you have CD recordings you will need to convert them from aiff to mp3.  iTunes and many other programs can do that conversion for you.  Import the mp3s into SmartMusic by going to "MP3 Audio Files." (In the left hand column.)  Then click the "Import" button and follow the directions there.

The next step is to send them as assignments.  You will notice that the music on screen feature isn't available.  The kids will need to know that this how this type of assignment works and there is nothing wrong with their computer or the assignment.  Write that info in your assignment directions and tell them when you see them in person... It seems odd to have to tell them to use the paper copy, but we have had this come up!

It is possible to take the time to work out all the parts in Finale and save them as SmartMusic files, but that would be a big project time-wise and sending it out would not be as slick as with a SmartMusic published material.  I am just looking for a way to verify that the students are working on their music outside of class.

I did make this an assignment worth some points for the recording.  I am also going to listen to them for concepts to work on for rehearsals.  In a way, this is like a rehearsal where the feedback from the director is really slow.  Am I grading these as close as a music on screen assignment?  No.  The red/green note feature is unavailable and for my beginners it would be hard to self evaluate and fix problems.  But I think students will benefit by listening to themselves and comparing themselves with the recording.

A few more observations:

Once the assignment has been sent in, my students think it is gone from their computers when it really isn't.  It appears that the accompaniment's mp3 file stays on your computer, just follow the "MP3 Audio Files" button.  That will be pretty handy for avoiding the "assignment's due avalanche" on the due date from the very responsible about practicing bunch.  They can send it in.  They still have the mp3.

Teachers could also listen, score in your school's grade book and send the assignment back if you want this assignment to keep showing up in the student's inbox.

Don't forget to coach kids on the "Find Music" feature for the songs that are published in SmartMusic.  That way they can keep practicing those as well.

The other thing to coach students on is the tempo control feature.  There is no substitute for spending time working something technical at a slow tempo.

Don't forget that SmartMusic does take requests!  http://www.smartmusic.com/findmusic/request-a-new-title/  If you have a piece that isn't in SmartMusic yet, they are looking for ideas about what to add.  This can take some time, so importing mp3s is what I am doing this month.

Hopefully, this will help us beat the "too much time off blues."  It is good to have work-arounds. I'll keep you posted.

I Wish I Knew This About SmartMusic Rubrics Last Week

www.SmartMusic.com

I was really excited about the new SmartMusic rubric feature that is available this year in SmartMusic 2013.

Rubrics give students something to aim for.  Rubrics give teachers a framework for their reflection on student work.  A computerized version can be very practical for a guy faced with 250 students' work.

The rubric tool is very flexible.  You can pick the number of categories to evaluate and the number of descriptors for each category.  It will even add points up.  So a couple of clicks on the descriptors and write a quick comment, done. On to the next project.  Nice.

Then the iOS people were wondering why they weren't getting the assignments.  Turns out this feature doesn't work on the iPad.  I knew that it wouldn't work for evaluating work on the iPad, but I do most of my listening on my computer so it was a non-issue for me.  I didn't think it would be  a problem for the kids because they don't fill out the rubric.  It turns out that the on student-side SmartMusic won't send the rubric assignments to the iOS app.  Ouch.

The work-around was to resend the assignment without the rubric.  Because I had some students that used computers and had the assignment in already I kept their work and removed the assignment from the kids that didn't have it in.  Then I removed the second assignment from the kids that did have it done.

I could have told people to ignore the assignment that didn't work, but that is one of those things that bring a lot of phone calls and e-mail with questions...  "Is it really true that Johnny doesn't have to do this line twice?"... I have some parents that are really on top of the homework.

If I had to guess, this may be one of those Flash/iOS problems that will work after they get it worked out in HTML 5.  My million dollar idea for a quick fix would be for SmartMusic not to send the rubric to an iOS device, but do send/receive the assignment.  Not the best solution, because the students won't see the targets of the rubric.  But I wouldn't expect them to fill out the form anyway, that's the teacher's job.

In the meantime, if any of your students will want to do their SmartMusic on their iPad, don't use the rubric feature.

Hopefully, this gets fixed fast.  I really liked the rubric.

SmartMusic Everywhere-- Tips For Enrollment

www.SmartMusic.com

There is more than one way to get SmartMusic.  We go with the school volume purchase plan at our school.  There is also more than one way to activate your student accounts.  I like to have kids do all this themselves, but you could activate their accounts for them (I may be the World's Worst Typist, so, NOT IT!)

After living with our SmartMusic roll-out for a couple of days, I think the easiest approach to activating an account is to start with your favorite browser, point it to www.SmartMusic.com and follow the "Redeem a Code" button.

There you will be asked to select a new account or existing account.

In classes with beginners, you talk your way through the process as new account members.  There will be a lot of questions to answer and at the end there will be a place to put in your code.

In the older classes, walk them through the existing customer route.  There will be fewer questions to answer and at the end, there is a place to put in your code.

After the code is used to activate the account, try the program.  If you used the browser to get in to activate the code, you need to start SmartMusic and login.  Login as an "Existing Customer" because once you have an account activated with a code, you are an existing customer.  (That may seem obvious to you, but with younger kids...)

This changing from the browser to SmartMusic may be where most of my kid problems are.  But, if you make them aware that you cannot do anything other than redeem the code and you have to switch to a SmartMusic app or program to do the work, the kids seem to get it.  I tell kids that you need to quit the browser and test your login in SmartMusic.

When they get into SmartMusic, those of you using the educator subscription need to have the kids "Enroll" for your class.  There is a clearly marked area for classes and a button there to enroll on the home page.  Older students may be asked to update their information as well.

My first SmartMusic Assignment this year had nothing to do with playing notes into SmartMusic.  Instead, I told kids there were going to get a grade for enrolling in class.  That did make for a flurry of activity on the deadline day, but I think that beats having problems trickle in.

I also had a couple of my very helpful older students in the practice room area (we have 5 stations for SmartMusic there) to trouble shoot for kids that were having problems.  Gave them a chance to be helpful and sped things up for the people who needed help.  I may be have a couple of future teachers here!

Last year the process for SmartMusic was install, activate and enroll for class; all done in SmartMusic.  This year the process is more like activate/renew your account and open SmartMusic (install it if you need to.)  This new approach seems more natural and easier to follow.

I know they have taken some heat for the new pricing plans, but there is something there when SmartMusic talks about the advantages for the end users when they license users and not devices.  Not having to activate the software on the end use machine is easier.  (And there is the iPad app and the ability to install SmartMusic in more than one place.....)

All of this is pretty easy to show with a IWB or projector in class and worth the time to do that.

So browser to activate the account, SmartMusic to test the login and enroll for class.  That's it in a nutshell.

Changes in SmartMusic Subscriptions and Our SmartMusic Everywhere Plan

www.SmartMusic.com

Last March, this pricing policy went into effect:

"School Practice Room subscription – the new price is $44 per year with no per-student fee. This subscription allows students’ access to SmartMusic on a school-owned device (computer or iPad).

And, as previously announced the pricing for Educator and Student subscriptions are as follows:

• Educator subscription – the price will remain at $140 per year with the added benefit of using your subscription on multiple devices at school or home.

• Student subscription – the new price is $40 per year with the added benefit of using a subscription on multiple devices at school or home, including the SmartMusic iPad version."    

If you are a band student and have an internet connected computer, we want you to have access to SmartMusic.  We think of it as a SmartMusic Everywhere plan for our students.  If you have problems with the computer/internet part of this, we have your back with practice rooms equipped with SmartMusic stations.

We cover the costs with our band fee.  If you have a home computer, you have access there paid for by your fee.  If you don't have a computer, you are helping to pay for our stations.

Overall, I would say we have been successful.  Our kids' practice is certainly more productive.  I can hear individuals and evaluate their playing.  Parents have evidence of their child's progress.  SmartMusic has been good for everyone in the program.

What has changed with the new pricing?  Not much as far as costs.  We came out about the same.  A little higher, but about the same.

There are some things that are different because of the way things are structured access-wise.  We were used to the per computer model, which is pretty hard to coordinate with families.  Do you have a computer?  Is it connected to the internet?  Can it run SmartMusic?  Throw brothers and sisters sharing a computer in the mix and YIKES.  How many do I order???

You can still run your program with just the practice rooms.  Fairly inexpensively too.

There are some downsides to a practice room only format.

Do you have the real-estate and computers to pull it off well?  There are days around here where there are kids 2 and 3 deep for our 5 stations.  That means a late afternoon for me at my school.

Your practice room login information will not let you login anywhere but the practice room until you have an active (paid for) account.  After that, you can login pretty much anywhere.  This may be the big change on our end.  Our students were able to use any device that had a paid-for subscription.  Now it is the user that needs to be paid for.  License users not machines.

We have found that the more kids use SmartMusic the better they get.  There is lots of time when our building isn't open for kids.  Having SmartMusic at home is a good thing.  I like going home.  I was a little nervous about the changes, but they really haven't been too bad.  Hopefully, the year goes well in this department.

Finally Getting Things Out The Door with SmartMusic

www.SmartMusic.com

SmartMusic is going out the door to all my students this week and the uniform T-shirts we use for uniforms on the middle schoolers are on their way.

Pricing seems to be the big news item from SmartMusic this year.  It appears that SmartMusic is covering their costs by moving towards a per user model as opposed to a per computer model.  That may be a more fair way of pricing things... the number of users in the server space on their end is a cost driver for SmartMusic, not the number of computers with SmartMusic installed on the other end.

We do save some money by doing a volume purchase order, but we used to save even more by not needing to pay for the second (third, fourth..) sibling on shared home computers.

I suppose we could save time by changing our model to a "we will fund only the practice rooms and if that is not convenient for you, you may buy SmartMusic yourself model."  But 6 stations and 250+ kids doesn't seem like a great idea.  It could be a before/after school supervision nightmare. A guy might never get to go home.

So EASY ACCESS to SmartMusic is a good thing.

The other good thing, the code system of paying for SmartMusic has been remodeled.  Go to www.SmartMusic.com/redeem and put in your code.  One of my beginners reported no problems with getting the program installed and registering for class was "easy."  She also was wondering why there weren't any assignments yet.  I guess I better close out and post an assignment!

iWork Goes Backwards

https://discussions.apple.com/message/23488122#23488122

I got this link from Andy Ihnatko via my Twitter feed (@Ihnatko.)

Upgrading to the new iWork may not be what people are expecting, so you may want to keep your old iWork handy.

Looks like to get the same functionality across all your devices in iCloud, the computer version needed to be "dumbed down."

I would like to think this is a temporary thing and all those lost features will be back soon.  On the other hand, maybe these aren't features you use and the new iWork is just what you need.

It would have been much more inspired to bring the iOS apps up to speed with OSX apps.

Mavericks. That was easy.

http://www.apple.com/osx/

There are probably a zillion more people out there that are more qualified to write a review of Mavericks (The latest version of OS X.)

I just wanted to say that this was the easiest OS update I have ever done.

And there were some times in the project when I thought it would be derailed.  I had some worries about doing the update at all, but no one seemed to be complaining about the update breaking critical software or starting Armageddon.  So why not have an adventure?

I started with the kitchen computer.

This is the computer that the kids use for homework or browsing after school.  We use separate accounts for each family member on it and fast user switching to stay out of each others' business.  Most of the school work is done in Google Docs, so that is backed up.  There really isn't much on it for software, so if I "bricked" the Mac Mini, I wasn't going to be in big trouble.  Great place to start.  So when the kids were off the machine, I started the update download and walked away.

Off course, when I was expecting the download to be done, I found my son playing Minecraft on the Mini.  I thought I would be starting over.  "It's ok Dad, I saw the download going, so I switched to my account."  Well, he was right.  When I got my turn and got switched to my account, there was the download, ready to go to work.

I did the install and that took care of itself nicely too.  Just start it and put in the admin password and away it went.  After the install was over, the first login took some time, but it did open my account with everything working and my files right where I left them.  The only visible change that I noticed looking at Mavericks for the first time was the background photo... it had been changed to that big wave they are using.  Is it my imagination or is Safari faster?

Gaining confidence, I am starting to work on the other household computers.  The laptop was next in line and that went well too.  I did have to update FileMaker 12, but that is the only software on the laptop that need attention.  Developers must have heeded the Apple advice to get ready for this release.  I did get a notice from Parallels that you must upgrade if you expect to be able to use those other operating systems.  The basement tower has that and a number of other pieces of software on it.  So that may be where I find this upgrade an issue.  I am not sure that I am running the very latest of version of everything and support tends to be better for the newest version.   Hopefully everything is in place for the basement tower when I get to it.

I am looking forward to using some of the new features in Mavericks.  I am a bit of a book worm, so iBooks across the devices has my attention.

Mark me down as a happy customer.

Anybody Else Bothered By This?

Anybody else bothered by this?

I know I will miss it.  Oh, I have looked at a couple of replacements.  (Feedly looks like it will be the new choice... If you have other ideas let me know.)  

It just seems strange to let a perfectly good tool go.  

As a home page, it was a dream.  You could see what your favorite writers were doing and get a hint if it was going to be worth a trip to their space.

Google, it is ok with me if you change your mind about iGoogle.

More FileMaker and the Band Director (Containers and Imports)

I love pictures, audio files and movies.

Pictures because they help me make documents warmer and more personalized.  They make it possible for a sub to take attendance quickly and report back to me more accurately if the class list I left has pictures.

Audio is what we use as an authentic product in band.  Probably a few other places in the building as well.

Ditto for movies of concert performances.

Before I learned FileMaker, it was very hard to keep track of these types of media and associate them with a student.  Using a FileMaker container field, tying a student and the work together is much easier.

Parent/Student/Teacher conferences are coming up soon, so I was updating my file of 250 or so students with their pictures.  There are some tricks that I would like to pass along that speed this process up a lot.  With a little imagination and some clever file naming this process will work with audio, video and anything else Quicktime can read.

First set up a field to receive the picture.  For FileMaker 12, go to File-Manage-Database and define a field.  Be sure the type of field selected is "Container."  You will also want student information on your layout as well... name and student id number.  Containers aren't searchable, but that isn't really a worry because this is a look at kid's work.  Find the kid and find the work.

Putting pictures into the container could be a go one record at a time and insert the picture and repeat 250 times process.  But that would take too long.  FileMaker will let you import a whole folder of records at a time and the picture files I was working with were identified with the student id number!  Follow the File- Import Records- Folder and follow the steps there.  Set the import up with the id number as the match field and point the picture to your container and 15 seconds later you are done.

There are some choices to make as you do this.  One is the store reference only option.  It takes up less disk space, but if the file ever gets moved to another directory there may be problems.

I bet you have already figured out that if you label other types of files with the student id you can pop them in a folder and do basically the same process.

If you have a media file that goes to several students (say a group project) find your group and insert the file into one container.  Then "command-equal sign" to insert it into the other student containers.

Using FileMaker for media files will save you from fumbling around at conferences.  Try it out!

Is Chromebook the Right Choice for Your Subject Area?

Is a 1:1 Chromebook project right for your subject?

Our school is rolling out a 1:1 using Chromebooks as the tool.

I'm applauding the effort.  1:1 in school has been a LONG time coming.  I think the roll-out over three years is way too slow.

But I'm still not totally sold that this system was the way to go.

I think the admin team here is still trying to sell our Chromebook roll-out.  On the weekly staff announcements there is an article about how great Chromebooks are.

"It boots in less than 10 seconds!  Battery life is as long as a school day!"

My personal devices pretty much do that too.  I'm not an engineer, but I would say the switch to flash memory from a traditional hard drive in  a computer does all that for you.

"Google Drive... need I say more?"

I make use of Google Drive with all my devices.  Google apps too.  I have been for years. Not a Chromebook exclusive.

"The device is light and small which makes storage, usage and mobility very easy and convenient."

But is it robust enough to stand up to school usage?  Is it ergonomically a good fit?  Does its size make it hard to keep physically secure?

"From a financial standpoint, the Chromebooks can't be beat...."

True.  But with that logic, we would all be driving Yugos, the car of 100 woes.

"The management system is pretty easy and straight forward from the networking and managing side of things."

It seems to me that the tech department that can manage several hundred staff machines can manage several hundred more.  It is a matter of scale and (probably) staffing.  Is the Google management system robust enough to meet the needs of the school environment?  It has been my experience in life that easy, straight forward and secure do not come in the same package.

"Google has shown it is willing to make and continue making substantial commitments to education, which means even more features and options in the years to come."

Google approved features.  You are limited to what can be offered as a web service.

If you want to install software, you are going to need to add an operating system.  For example, I doubt that SmartMusic (a software that I use) will ever work really well as a completely net service.  Large portions of the management of that software are network based, but most of the magic happens on my computer. The milliseconds introduced by even a screaming fast network add up to perceptible amounts of time for musicians.

I'm not sure how you would teach programming on Chromebooks.  Are you limited to HTML and Java?  Maybe we aren't expecting students to do programming.

This reminds me of the old Mac vs. PC wars.  Really, it shouldn't make any difference what machine you run.  The question really should be does this set-up do what I want it to do?  Do it well?

Chromebooks are just what the teachers of writing need.  They will do word processing and document management for their situation very well.  For now, most writing is done on keyboards and that may change soon.  I'm a big fan of GAFE for this as well.  We should have been  using Google Docs years ago.  The ability to share a document in real time with an editor or collaborator is game changing.

I am not sure about what to say to the math and science teachers, the physical education department, visual arts teachers and music teachers.  There may be better choices for them.  More flexibility on the apps that run on the machines make other laptop options attractive.  Cameras that are useful for things other than web chat and a wide variety of apps for the iPad make that an interesting choice as well.  You get the picture.

If you are at the crossroads of what to choose for a 1:1 initiative, think across the curricular day and make your decision carefully.  1:1 needs to be done.

iPhone and iOS 7

I don't usually do an update right away.  More often, I will wait a week or two before doing a major update like moving to iOS 7.

There are a couple of reasons.  One of which is the old saying that the "Pioneers take all the arrows."  It is not always a good idea to be first.

But I was really curious and I have a fairly new iPhone with only a couple apps on it.  I did check with Twitter and people were reporting 7 hour download times.  Common sense was telling me to not do this update like I normally would....  Watching the download thermometer and getting nervous if the lights flickered.

Nope.  Just started the software update and went to bed.  I am not even sure how long the download took.  I got 7 hours of sleep.  In the morning, my phone did say it needed to verify the download.  That took about 5 minutes.  Then I waited for it to complete the install and I answered a few questions for set-up.

I haven't had any trouble with my apps.  I did update the few I have on my phone... FileMaker Go, Twitter and a couple others.  Those updates didn't take very long and soon I was able to confirm that Angry Birds works fine in iOS 7.

I did run into one person that was having trouble.  Make sure you know how to login to your Apple iCloud account.  This one was tied to a G-Mail address and it wasn't taking the password.  You should be able to login to your Apple account before doing the download.  Wonder what the work- around will be?

Edit:
9/20/2013

There is a very nice iOS 6 and iOS 7 comparison piece over at http://techinmusiced.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/video-about-ios-7-vs-ios-6/
I like Dr. Russell's side by side approach to what's new.  It shows the differences and packs a bunch of information into a couple of minute video.  Check it out.

FileMaker and the Band Director Part Deux

www.FileMaker.com

Sorry about that rant in my last post.  It was darned hot here.  It is surprising how much difference a break in the weather can make in my attitude.  Let's just say it is time the facilities around here got upgraded to the mid-20th Century.

Back to something more positive.

I did mention that FileMaker is my tool of choice for many things that I need to do.  This week the item on my plate is the student handbook signature page.

I am sure many of you have handbooks for the year.  There is a lot of information that needs to go home.  When the concerts are going to be held... what you are grading... SmartMusic/home computer information... uniform sizes...  You need to be sure you have communicated with parents about all of these things.  We have managed to get our middle school handbook down to 4 pages that spell out all of the expectations for the year.  We have a signature page on the document that needs to be returned.

Really.  We need this signature page back, because it has information we need to move forward.  We have uniform t-shirts.  The size to order is on that page.  We want SmartMusic to go to every house that has an internet connection.  Is that everyone?

We do give them time to turn it in.  Tracking that turn-in with FileMaker does make things easier.  I set-up a field in my data base for that.  I called it "handbook in" and set-up a layout with "name", "band" and "handbook in" fields on it.  Since the form has either been returned or it hasn't, I formatted the "handbook in" field as a radio button for the control style for the field.  I used "yes or no" as the two possible field values.  I started with everyone as a "no" for this field. (Command and = is a great short cut to change a field value for the found set.)  As the papers came in I would open my data base and change the no to a yes.

During the next couple of rehearsals, I am going to show kids my list of band students who haven't turned in their handbook page.  If it is in their locker and filled out, I will make arrangements to get it from them and change their no to a yes.  Others get a reminder.

OK.  Everything I have done so far could be done with a number of programs.  Here's the value of doing this in FileMaker.  At the end of today, I can find all the records of people that haven't turned in their signature page.  I have their e-mail addresses in my data base as well. (Can you see where this is headed?) So this afternoon, I am going to take about two minutes, find those kids with no spage turned in and e-mail their parents.  I am also going to attach another copy of the handbook just in case they need to print one out.

You don't really need to leave FileMaker to do this.  In FileMaker go to File>Send>Mail and this screen with some options shows up:

Basically, you choose if you want this to generate e-mails using your e-mail client or SMTP, one e-mail  or for everyone in the found set, write your subject line, add your attachment and send the message.  For addressing, I use BCC for a mail like this.  Not everyone needs to or should know who got this message.  If you use the "To:" address field, everyone who gets this message can see who got this message.

Yes, there are other programs that can do all of this for you.  Most of the time you are stuck with how they want to do the job.  There is a lot of flexibility with using FileMaker for this type of work.  If you have found other programs to do this, great.  If you haven't started doing this electronically it is time to start.

So How Hot IS It?

So how hot  IS it at Grandview?

Got this in an email from the office today...

"Hello and welcome back!   As luck would have it, the weather forecast for Tuesday is HOT, HOT, HOT!  We wanted to send out a reminder that unfortunately Grandview does not have air conditioning.    We recommend that  small children,  elderly grandparents or anyone sensitive to the heat not attend or at the very least, bring a bottle of ice water to help tolerate the heat.  We will have fans running but even with that we fully expect the temperature inside the building to meet or exceed the outside temperature due to the number of people who attend."

I am thinking I am sensitive to heat.  Everyone with a pulse is sensitive to this much heat.

Actually, I'm thinking it is crazy that these multi-million dollar facilities DON'T have air conditioning.  Yeah the boiler may be more important in the Minnesota climate, but do they really expect kids to learn in a room that is pushing 100 in September, April, May and June?  Forget July and August because no one gets that lucky on temps in July and August.

One more thing to pack tomorrow.  BYO Ice water.  At least the advice is good.