One of the goals behind Unison.School is to help teachers with limited time make a meaningful impact on their students' lives. In our last few posts, we discussed how planning and organizing can help you get the most out of your class time. The other end of the time conundrum, however, is reaching students outside your class time.
Practice
Unlike band and orchestra programs, general music classes are often limited not by student ability, but by the inability to practice their music outside of the class. The instrument studio on Unison.School allows students with any internet-enabled device to access a practicing tool for barred percussion and piano assignments.
Explore
Using the rhythm builder and melody builder, students can hone their understanding of musical building blocks.
Login
To unlock the full capabilities of the rhythm and melody sections, students should first log into Unison.School. There are three ways to do so:
- On a shared device that the teacher has logged into, there is a class dropdown for student logins, that only require a student class number and password. This is ideal for a shared device in the music room.
- From any device, students can use the student login at the top right of the page. They must select state, district, building (although it will try to use GPS to fill in these three steps for them), class, student number, and password.
- That's too hard! Try the QR codes, printable from the teacher's class page. You could pass out these codes, or even email them to students. They can use the camera on a device to scan, and it will log them in automatically.
Rhythm Builder
Drag and drop rhythms to create long patterns or short ostinati. Click play to hear the drum give feedback, and try to clap along. Use the dropdown menu to select tempo, number of measures, and rhythm sets. (Hint: also click on the ending barline to see what happens)
Melody Builder
Use the onscreen xylophone to tap out a melody, and see it written down for you on the staff! Playback to listen, and select pitch sets and time signatures from the dropdown menu.
Test
Students can get immediate feedback on their own beat, rhythm, and pitch skills with the practice and assigned tests.
Rhythm Assessment
Using a touch-screen, mouse, or space bar, students can tap the rhythm they see. Choose from a computer-provided click track or a test that checks only for steadiness and rhythm at the child's own tempo. Rhythms include sixteenth notes, syncopation, long durations, and different time signatures.
Melody Assessment
Once again using the on-screen xylophone, students can tap the pitch patterns that they see, with instant feedback in yellow (correct) and red (incorrect). Need more of a challenge? Turn on the rhythms as well, and test both skills together!
How will your students use Unison.School to grow? Get started by registering for a free account today!