Amy M. Burns

Elementary Music Technology and Integration

Amy M. Burns has taught PreK-grade 4 general music for over 25 years at Far Hills Country Day School (FH) (https://www.fhcds.org/). She also teaches grade 5 instrument class, directs the FH Philharmonic, is the Performing Arts Department Manager, and teaches privately in the after-school conservatory after being the director for over 20 years. She has authored four books and numerous articles on how to integrate tech into the elementary music classroom. She has presented many sessions on the topic, including four keynote addresses in TX, IN, St. Maarten, and AU. She is the recipient of the 2005 Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) Teacher of the Year, the 2016 New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) Master Music Teacher, the 2016 Governor’s Leader in Arts Education, and the 2017 NJ Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year Awards. Her most recent publication, Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches (2020), published by Oxford University Press (OUP) is available from OUP and Amazon. Burns is also the Community Coordinator for Midnight Music (MMC) at https://midnightmusic.com/, the General Music Chair for NJMEA Board of Directors, and the Elementary Music Consultant for MusicFirst (https://www.musicfirst.com/), a company built by music educators for music educators, dedicated to helping music teachers and their students make the most of technology in the classroom.

#techtiptuesday Recording Your Google Slideshows/Manipulatives

September 03, 2024  /  Amy M. Burns

I love the phrase, “I was this many years old when…” I discovered the record button that will allow you to screen-record your Google slideshows.

I believe that this update happened earlier this year. However, this has some advantages if you use Google Slides daily in your classroom.

How to Record

It is a very intuitive process. You open your slideshow and click the record button on the top right-hand side of the screen. When you click record, it will default to recording the sound that would come from videos embedded in your slideshow. This is much like using Google Meets where it sources the sound from the tab.

Once you finish recording, it will be saved to your drive. To share it, change the sharing settings to anyone with a link and use that link so others can view the video if needed. Plus, there will now be a number placed next to the record button in your original slideshow to show you that you have created a recording.

Advantages

  • Why use Google Slides in your music class?

    • I use Google Slides and Canva as my classroom manipulatives so that when a 5th-grade music class leaves, followed by a kindergarten music class, I click on the tab and switch from the 5th-grade Google Slideshow to the Kindergarten Google Slideshow.

  • When you need a substitute teacher:

    • By having this recording option, I can record my Google Slideshow for my substitute to access. Since I can record myself narrating, this is so helpful as I share the link with my substitute, and as long as they can access the internet, they can upload the link and click play. With my slideshow and narrations, the sub can sit back and not be as anxious teaching a music class.

  • When you are teaching concert music:

    • When I teach concert music, I like to be able to share the music with the classroom teachers so that they can play it during snack time or mindfulness time. Some of the songs, especially for my preschoolers, are ones we sing acapella. By recording the slideshow, I can give the link to the teachers, they can click play, and it will go through my slideshow with my songs and me singing them. Or, it will play the embedded videos of choirs singing the music.

  • When you need to share today’s lesson with another student or administrator:

    • I could use this recording tool to record the slideshow and simple narrations explaining the activity. Though the person viewing it will not be actively in the classroom participating, it does help them not miss the songs/activities/dances/etc that were taught that day in class. This is very helpful if you have transient students or you would like your students to practice their music at home.

If you have not discovered this tool, I hope that this helps!

Music by https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7zV8XtKEgQmknnunuZFqjw

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