Apple Maps Part II

Just a reminder that the Apple Maps icon actually suggests that you drive right off an overpass:

Nuff' said.

Create Your Own Android App - w/Out Code!

This seems amazing to me!  I'm going to mess with it more, but had to share:

http://beta.appinventor.mit.edu/

Go mess with it!

SendHub Sounds Pretty Cool. Haven't Tried it.

Here is a site that sounds like it could be useful if I wanted to add yet another website to my daily life.  I don't have time (yet) to implement it, but it sounds like it actually has a useful application for teachers.  So here is some information about SendHub:

Watch the video so I don't have to type anything more about it:

Now go try it out yourself, then post comments as to how awesome or crappy this service is.  Thanks!

Export Google Calendar to Spreadsheet

Easily export all your google calendar dates for any calendar(s) you choose to excel using one quick and easy website.  Great for creating a paper version of your school calendar to hand out to students!

http://www.gcal2excel.com/

JAM with Chrome

Jam with Chrome.  Watch video, start jammin'!

http://www.jamwithchrome.com/

Just a really cool, informative Prezi

This was just well done.  Had to share:

The Better Angels of Our Nature on Prezi

The creators of Prezi are never satisfied.  Prezi has just come out with a new interface and new look.  As you can see, this online presentation software just keeps getting better; with real improvements in every upgrade.  I love the dynamic nature of Prezi.  I love how Prezi can keep even those with the shortest attention spans focused.  And I love that it's free... I hope it stays that way!

Everything Mac.... except phone....

This video exemplifies why I believe in mac.... in everything EXCEPT the iPhone.  Until the iPhone improves, I'm an android user.  There is no reason to switch, until apple gets it together with their iPHone.

Watch this video:
http://vimeo.com/52497584

Nuff' said.

Speech Recognition

Speech recognition software can be very pricey, but adding a speech recognition option to your computer doesn't have to be expensive. Here are two free speech to text tools to try.

In Google Chrome you can use the Speech Recognizer app available for free through the Chrome Web Store. To use the Chrome Speech Recognizer just install it from the Chrome Web Store, launch it, then click the microphone to start taking and recording your voice. The Speech Recognizer will type out your text when you finish recording. You can then copy and paste your text to the paragraph box below the Speech Recognizer or to a document you have open in Google Docs.

Online Dictation is a free site that will transcribe your speech for you. To use the site just visit it, click on the microphone icon, and start talking. If the transcription inserts the wrong word (for example it inserted "number" instead of "mumble" when I tried it) just click on that word to replace it. You can copy the transcript and paste it anywhere you like.

This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers . 

iOS 6 Apple Map vs. Google Map Apps at War

I know this has nothing to do with music, but I had to post about this.  Apple and Google don't seem to be getting along any more since the release of iOS 6.


Apple has made their own version of Google Maps, simply called "Maps".  It is supposed to be better than google maps, but has far too many errors and goofs.  Some are downright hilarious.

See some great apple map fail pics HERE.

Not only do new iPad's not come with the "Google Maps" app anymore, they also do not come with the "YouTube" app, since it is associated with google.

Needless to say, I'm not happy at all about the war between google and apple.  The new iPad's that have iOS 6 on them do not include the YouTube or Google Map apps.  It's also the reason I prefer Android over the iPhone.  Android still offers better navigation and is google friendly.  So although I love Apple laptops, iPads and iPods, my phone will be Android into the distant future.

PDF Tip: Reduce File Size

As someone who works with PDF's literally every day, I have acquired quite a large collection of scanned music, docs, and music of my own all in PDF format.  This format can take up quite a lot of disc space.

This handy little trick lets you reduce the file size on any MAC OS in a few easy steps:

• Right click the PDF file you desire to work with and then select "Open with..."
• Select the "Colorsync Utility" application
• The Colorsync Utility will open up with your PDF file.  At the bottom of Colorsync Utility status bar, you can select the quartz filter you wish to apply (including any custom ones you made)
• Press "Apply"
• Save the document

If you are using windows, select primopdf or cutepdf when you bring up the print menu.  If you really need to know how to dot his on windows, google it.

Multimedia Wordle

Yesterday I had posted about thinglink. Here is a example of a wordle which has some magnificent audio and video clips embedded in the tags:

 

I recommend taking some time to work around this thinglink and listen / watch the examples inside.  Some great parenting and teaching tips for discipline!

ThingLink Photo Mapping/Tagging First Try

ThingLink is a website that lets you tag audio, video, text and html links to different areas within a photo/picture.  How many uses can you find for this in education?

My first attempt at making an image was tagging the names on "A Great Day In Harlem" photo.  Hover over each person within the image to display their name.

60 Educational Apps in 60 Minutes

60 Educational Apps in 60 Minutes on Prezi

Accidentally stumbled upon this Prezi while sifting through the explore portion of the site.  Nice find if I do say so myself!

2 Cool Sites, , 1 Informational Image!

Components of a 21st Century Classroom:
http://edtechtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/21stcenturyclassroom.jpeg

Plus check out this learning website:
http://www.instagrok.com/

Share your audio easily:
http://www.chirbit.com/

3 Timeline / Story Mapping Sites

Here are 3 very cool sites which will greatly help lectures which require timelines or story mapping.

Timetoast (interactive) see example here

MyHistro, uses google maps. 

Menograph - The best of the 3.  Check out a demo here, and imagine the possibilities in Music Appreciation or Music History classes where dates are used frequently.  Uses google earth and lets you narrate as well.

Quizlet has an iPhone App!

Quizlet iPhone app is finally here!  No more need to use 3rd party apps to import Quizlet flashcards.  Hopefully there will be an iPad version soon....?

The app is simple, and doesn't have many new features that other similar apps don't already have, but it is nice to be able to log directly into your own Quizlet account to access all the flashcards w/out having to import.  There is a version of scatter, which does not work with images, only text.  The best study method is still the simplest - flash cards you can flip over using the touch screen swipe action.

When to use Pinky Keys on Clarinet

I found this video very helpful in teaching/learning the pinky keys on clarinet:

Band camp blog

Beautiful first day!

PowToon and 19 Pencils

An "alternative" to Powerpoint and Prezi - Powtoon.

Woot - I finally got a beta account to try out Powtoon.  It took about a week, but it was well worth the wait.  Yes, it is very cool, and pretty intuitive with a friendly user-interface.  There are still glitches and limitations (like not being able to add an image from computer, only from online source, or not yet being able to publish to Youtube) but overall, this has a LOT of potential.  I don't think of this so much as a replacement to powerpoint and definitely, but rather something to help to make a Prezi better.

Powtoon seems like a great way to incorporate a short movie, possibly with many quick facts and a voice-over for a portion of an existing Prezi.  I don't see this as any sort of replacement... yet.... because it only lets you do a continuous movie.  You don't have the option to flip through slides and talk about things in more detail.

The other site worth mentioning today is 19Pencils.  You can see a Powtoon about 19pencils HERE

Menograph Now Open to Public

Check out the just-released-to-the-public site Meograph.



You can see how this site is great for educators in it's ability to do timelines and story telling using web-based browsers such as chrome and integrating google earth to show locations.

Need a Limited # of Volunteers for Time Slots? -Check out Doodle.com

Got this email from a very awesome helpful parent:

=======================================

Someone asked about signing up for stuff online and I wanted to let you know about something I've used in the past that works great for organizing volunteers.  There is a website called www.doodle.com that helps in two ways and is totally free:

1. If you need to check availability for a meeting, let's say, you can throw out 3-4 (or 50) possibilities for date and time then e-mail a link to the folks who need to attend.  They simply check the possibilities they could attend and then you will see which of those choices will get the best attendance and choose that date and time for your meeting.
2. THIS IS THE ONE THAT WORKS FOR SCHEDULING TIME SLOTS  Let's say you need volunteers to chaperone 5 nights of band camp (or sell t-shits during an all day event, etc.) but you only need two people per time slot, here's how (each number is a new screen):
1.  Go to www.doodle.com and click on "schedule an event"
2. Fill in the title name and description, etc. (click next)
3. Click on each of the dates you need to cover (click next)
4. Write down the time slots for each date (or none if it's all day) (click next)
5. Under settings select "Limit the number of participants per option" and put in how many you need for each time slot (click next)
6. Under "You send the invitation" click "finish" and it will generate a link you can copy and paste into any email you want.

Just because it's easy, I set up an example you can check out here http://www.doodle.com/7rau55kfvqphf3c7 (that's the participant link) If you type in your name and start checking time slots like you want to volunteer, you will notice you can't click any that already has two people because I limited it to two in step 5 above.

Hope that helps!  It has saved me a number of times.

Add Signature to PDF in 1 Easy Step

If you have ever received a PDF attachment that needs to be signed, you've probably gone through the hassle of printing it, signing it, scanning it, then emailing it back to the sender. If you're a Mac user running OSX Lion there is an easier way to sign PDFs. Tekzilla shows you how 

This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers .

Marching Band Folio Layout Page Creation in Finale

My first Finale Tutorial video:

Instant feedback and testing using Socrative

Go to http://www.socrative.com/

Here is a quick start tutorial on socrative:

Free Music Download Sites

Youtube videos with music are simply more interesting to watch.  Music adds a lot of emotion and excitement, sets the mood.  However, youtube recognizes copyrighted music and  issues warnings if you use the music in your videos and podcasts.  Avoid this by using FREE music found at these sites: (copied in part from source)

 

Freeplay Music is a user-friendly downloadable music site where music is sorted by genre.  There is a search function, but since most of this music is labeled by genre, searching for a specific title is rather pointless.  I used this site most when adding music to youtube.


Jamendo is a source of free and legal music downloads. The music on Jamendo comes from the artists who upload it themselves. While not all of the music is licensed for re-use, there is a substantial collection of music labeled with a Creative Commons license.

The Free Music Archive provides free, high-quality, music in a wide range of genres.  Anyone can download music from FMA for use in podcasts, videos, and other digital presentation formats. The music collections can be searched by genre or by curator.

PodSafe Audio is good place to locate and download free music for multimedia presentations.PodSafe Audio is a community of musicians who create music and share it for the purpose of fair-use in podcasts.

Sound Bible is a resource for finding and downloading free sound clips, sound effects, and sound bites. You can find sounds for use in podcasts, videos, slideshows, or other multimedia creations.

8notes.com has sheet music and downloadable drum riffs and mp3's.  Not a huge selection (and quite random what you may find here), but you can find some gems here too.

Incompetech is a royalty-free music download site with almost no structure to it.  However, you can find some pretty cool music here, if you don't mind scrolling down one huge page.  You might be able to find some music by the genre/feel you are looking for using Ctrl + F to open the 'find-on-page window.

Note-Worthy Screen Capture Sites/Apps

Screen Capture/Sharing - Web Based

1. Screencast-o-Matic
2. Jing
3. Snaggy
4. ScreenLeap
5. Join Me
6. Screenr
7. Quick Screen Share
8. Bounce
9. Aviary
10. ShowMeWhat'sWrong
11. Awesome Screenshot (Chrome/Firefox/Safari)
12. Screen Draw (Firefox Add-On)

Screen Capture Image:

1. Gyazo (Windows only, download-able .exe)
2. Skitch (Mac only download)

Screen Capture Video:

1. Snagit
2. Quicktime 10 Player Tutorial (found on new macbooks)

Rather than making my own copied version of 7 great screen capture sites on this blog, I'll just give you the direct link to the blog entry found at the Free Technology for Teachers site.  Clicky HERE to see the article!

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/09/7-good-screen-capture-tools-for.html

Here is my simple list of links: (Taken from HERE)

Windows 8 & New Macs: No Love for DVD

DVD Playback/Burning No Longer Supported

The future according to Apple/Windows is in the cloud, not those house-cluttering DVD's/CD's/Blue-Ray discs.

Windows 8 will launch without DVD playback (Article)

"I cannot find iDVD on my new mac" (Apple Support Thread)

Why is there no iDVD on my new Mac? (highlights from this post)

Apple insists that the entire world has access to fast broadband (and are prepared to pay for the considerable bandwidth usage) and wants to distribute home movies to friends and relatives via download (iCloud, YouTube, Facebook, whatever) rather than mailing them a DVD. The fact that in reality not all users do, has so far had no effect on this policy.

Whilst Macs with a Superdrive continue to be able to burn video DVDs, the software for so doing, iDVD, is no longer included in the iLife bundle that comes with OS 10.7 Lion (which also omitted iWeb) or will come with OS 10.8 Mountain Lion. And it is no longer included in the iLife 11 from the online Apple Store:http://www.apple.com/ilife/. Your only solution is to look on Amazon or eBay and try to get an older version that includes iDVD 7, i.e. iLife version 9 onwards. You should also do this if you plan to buy a new Mac anytime soon, as stocks of iLife that include iDVD will not be available for ever.

And if you think Microsoft are any better, their new Windows 8 operating system will not play DVDs, or burn them, unless customers buy an extra upgrade, the company has announced: http://www.gizmag.com/windows-8-no-dvd-playback/22443/

In other words, computer manufacturers have declared optical media as dead, long before consumers are ready to stop using them, which is fine as long as they offered us a choice, but they won’t even do that. Flexibility and intuitive use of a computer seems to be a thing of the past.

When I received my new MacBook a few months back, I was very excited about the possibilities of video editing using iMovie.  When I was done with the first edit, I was rather frustrated trying to find iDVD.... then more so when I discovered that it was not included.  Especially since iDVD is my preferred DVD burning software.

It seems like the push to cloud-based storage is not something we will all have to do, regardless of financial situations, and weather we want it or not.

Walmart is anticipating this, and is trying to lead the charge to get everyone in on the conversion process:

So what are your thoughts on this?  Leave comments below.

Google Hangout > Skype

Why doesn't google make a huge deal out of hangout??  Google hangout is what Skype wishes it was.  Or, what I wish it was.  Google hangout is what conferencing sites should be.  It is the next evolution in video chat and conferencing.

Watch this vid:

...not sure why this video doesn't showcase the most awesome aspect - incorporation of google docs!

Google Hangout Pros:

1.  Free video chat with up to 10 participants.  Newest update to Skype has a group setting but costs some green.

2.  More intuitive interface. (after you figure out how to get into hangout, everything else is easy)

3.  Screen sharing in hangout.  Give someone a tutorial in real time (computer inept parents for example!)  Share what you are doing on your computer screen with others.

4.  Youtube video sharing!  Let's all watch the same movie together.  Imagine the educational possibilities.  Plus, cats or whatever is currently trending.

5.  Minimal setup and maintenance requirements! All you need is a browser and some sort of laptop/desktop camera.  Most laptops have these built in nowadays.

6.  Silly special effects.  Not necessary, but a lot of fun to put on a pirate's hat and beard, etc...

7.  Google docs built in to cooperatively work on docs together.  This is probably the most impressive feature, especially if you are accustomed to using docs with other teachers.

The cons to google hangout:

1.  Google + account is needed to use (if you want to set up / initiate your own hangout or  if you are among the few who don't already have one)  However, to join someone else's hangout, they merely need to invite you.  I was invited via a popup window while checking my gmail w/out google + account activated.

2. A computer/laptop w/camera needed.  There is no tablet/smartphone app that I know of that uses hangout....yet.

In conclusion, get a google + account and try this.  It is worth your time to check out.

Outstanding Video Game Music +Medal of Honor Top 10

Now that summer is truly here (school's out!) I have taken on a project I've been completely enjoying... and I'm only in the research stage.  I'm going to arrange a marching show for the HS band of all old-school classic video game music.

In no particular order, here is the list of tunes to include in the show medley:

Click on title to listen:

Super Mario Theme

Legend of Zelda: Overworld

Tetris

Mario World Overworld Theme

Duck Tales – The Moon

Star Fox Corneria Theme

Mega Man 2 - Dr Wily Skull Castle

While researching which tunes to include, I came across some other outstanding music from my video-game laden childhood/young adult life which brought back many great memories as well.  One of which, was my love specifically for the music from the "Medal of Honor" series.  If you are not familiar with this music, you need to be.  It should be required listening for everyone, regardless of their personal thoughts on video games.

So here it is, my top 10 list of music from the Medal of Honor video games.

Click title to listen:

#1 Medal of Honor - Main Theme

#2 Medal of Honor Underground - Labyrinth of the Minotaur

#3 Medal of Honor Frontline – Manor House Rally

#4 Medal of Honor Pacific Assault - Main Theme

#5 Medal of Honor - Merker's Salt Mine

#6 Medal of Honor Underground - The Battle Of Monte Cassino

#7 Medal of Honor European Assault – Dogs of War

#8 Medal of Honor Frontline – Sturmgeist’s Armored Train

#9 Medal of Honor Fronline – After the drop

#10 Medal of Honor Allied Assault – Main Theme

Quickly! Drum Assigner

If you have 9 percussionists or less in your ensemble, this program is FANTASTIC for assigning parts to players.  It is called Quickly! Drum Assigner and is available for free at bandworld.org.  The online video tutorials that come with it make the learning time super quick.  However, you may find them to be unnecessary since the program is rather intuitive and easy to figure out on your own.  This software is great for bands where percussionists don't always play the same parts on each tune.

Click this image to see a larger version of the screenshot:

Quickly! Drum Assigner Screenshot

The free version comes with a small amount of pre-loaded percussion tunes, and if you pay the $20 discounted price, you can get about 1,400+ tunes added to the database.  I found that entry of the music was so quick, it was almost just as easy to put them in myself however.

My main criticism of the software is that it does not accomodate any ensembles with over 9 percussionists.  Every one of my ensembles have over 9 players, so this makes the software obsolete for my use.  I've lost hope that there will ever be an update to accomodate more than 9 players, but who knows.

Bacon, Nyan, Fale.

Pointless Post: How to turn any website into Bacon, Nyon, or Fale.

Click HERE to Bacon-ize your site
example: http://bacolicio.us/http://www.peta.org/

Click HERE to Nyan-ize any website
example: http://nyanit.com/bandroomtech.blogspot.com/

Click HERE to Fale (fail) any website
example: http://fale.ca/http://bandroomtech.blogspot.com/

Finale Songbook App for iPad + Dropbox Hint

Finale has released it's first iPad app, Finale Songbook!

Although it is pretty minimal in it's functionality now, hopefully it will continue to evolve just as forScore has evolved over time.  Specifically the integration of Dropbox would be nice, since currently Songbook requires an old school connection to iTunes, OR, you can open the finale .mus file using this workaround:

From within  Dropbox, locate the .mus file you want to open in Songbook.  

Click on the file, then in the upper right corner, find the open in.... icon.  Select the Songbook icon, and you are good to go - no connection to your computer needed. (you will need to have the file in  Dropbox however)

forScore Stamp Resources

One of the best features in forScore is the stamps.  Although I have not tried this yet, this link will give you some cool new stamps to import into forScore.

CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL FORSCORE STAMPS

If I can get these imported myself, I may make a quick tutorial video to show the how-to process later.  Even better, if you have already tried this and have been successful, please share by posting in comments below!

Keystation Mini 32

New to me!  I know it's been out for a while, but I recently visited the local Guitar Center, and purchased the Keystation Mini 32 piano keyboard for Finale note entry.  Here is what the setup looks like:

Okay, so the 'music stand' was a bit pieced-together (cardboard), but the piano works well with finale, and it fits into the same case as the laptop!  Makes for great note entry no matter where I go!  The only issue is finding a small table-top music stand I can take with me also.... Anyone know of any?

New Apple TV VGA Adapter

Not only does this VGA adapter look fantastic with the Apple TV, it's also a lot cheaper than the one I'm currently using.  The one I'm using now doesn't look have as nice, is much more bulky, and .... well, just check this out:

http://9to5mac.com/2012/05/02/kanex-releases-atv-pro-adapter-for-connecting-older-projectors-with-airplay-devices/

Here is a great review comparing previous HDMI to VGA converters to the Kanex ATV Pro Adapter.

Commence drooling!

3 Note-worthy iPad App Sites

Here are 3 sites with Music and Music Ed related iPad Apps:

1. iPad Apps in Education
2. Musicians with Apps
3. Appitic

Air Display (iPad) + SmartMusic

So geeked about this not-very-new discovery.  Using the iPad as a remote control for the SmartMusic computer which is connected to the projector (and speakers) allows me to wander the room w/out being tethered to the tech cart!  Using this strategy, it is possible to work my way around the room, checking slides/fingerings, posture, breathing, and everything else WHILE still controlling the smartmusic station!  The programs used are SmartMusic and the iPad app AirDisplay.

Air Display

 

To understand why this is so crucial to teaching, one must first undersand the layout of the classroom.  The cart is up front, close to the white board.  However, when teaching percussion, I have to teach from the back of the room (in the percussion section), with my back to the cart.  Having the AirDisplay on the iPad allows me the freedom to still have access to the cart w/out having to travel to the cart each time I want to access it (smartmusic).

Free Ticheli Music!

Although these are not complete pieces, in some cases the excerpts of music in .pdf format are quite lengthy - some excerpts are 3 pages long.  For example, there is plenty of Shenandoah music in here to serve as a chorale or warm-up piece.

http://www.manhattanbeachmusic.com/best_music_system2.html

There is a link at the bottom of the above link which will take you to the virtual scores section.  These virtual scores are not downloadable, but they are complete.  The best part is that they play the music as you flip through the pages.  Worth a look!

The ABC's of the Overtone Series

This is an interesting approach to understanding pitch tendencies in (mostly brass) instruments using the overtone series.

http://www.bandworld.org/html/OvertoneIntro.html

Enjoy!

Universal Website for Solving Everything.

Finally, a website to help with those issues when things seem impossible to fix!

http://nooooooooooooooo.com/

You are welcome.

iPad 2 vs. New iPad...to buy or not to buy?

Here is an informative side-by-side comparison of iPad2 and the new iPad HD.

http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/new-ipad-vs-ipad-2-how-the-specs-compare-2012038/

My conclusion: not enough has changed to warrant an upgrade from my iPad 2.  So now I wait for iPhone 5, and the next iPad upgrade.....

New Bandworld Forum!

Max and Scott McKee of ABC (the American Band College) have created a fantastic resource to share and find information for band related stuff online.  Preview the incredible new Bandworld Forum site before it officially launches February 29th!!!

http://www.bandworld.org/forum/index.php

Register to be able to post stuff yourself!

Prezi Grant App for Marimba

Here was a prezi I did to supplement a grant application for a much needed marimba:

Marimba Information on Prezi

Grading Google Forms in 1 Easy Step

Flubaroo

Just found this FANTASTIC lil' add-on to google docs which grades the answers submitted by students in one easy step.  Watch the 3 minute demo found on this page HERE.

CloudFTP

I am sad I missed this Kickstarter product.  I think this item is going to be great.  Check it out.

 Click HERE to goto the link on the Kickstarter page for CloudFTP.  There is a very detailed video included.

Just read this great article (not technology related):

What teachers wish they could tell parents

Come see my technology in music presentation at the Michigan Music Conference on Friday, January 20th at 1pm!

MMC Presentation on Prezi