Question 1:

When I am finding apps to use in my classroom, of course the first thing I think we all look for is
if it will fit in with our lesson. Does the content match? Is it enriching? Will it challenge my
students? Using digital apps can add a whole new layer to our lessons for student engagement,
but it can be challenging to avoid getting caught up in just finding something cool and fun. In the
past, I have gone down rabbit holes of finding an awesome resource for my students to try, and
when I’ve gone back to the lesson to write it in, I struggle to make the goals and objectives align
because my app is a little far from the point. Making sure that your application will align directly
with your standards is important, because students will be working toward the same goal
without having to learn something else or tie in other knowledge in order to complete the task.
Of course, if you want them to use other knowledge, that is a great idea, too. Many times when
we are selecting educational apps, we are having students practice skills in a different, digital
way rather than traditional learning. It is also important to me to choose an easily accessible app
for my classroom. I don’t want to spend the entire class period signing students into accounts or
explaining how to use the tools because that will keep us from the content. When choosing
apps, I select ones that are a little challenging, but my students can still figure them out in a
reasonable amount of time and apply their knowledge of the app and content together.
Unfortunately, I have learned a lot of these things from failed attempts at implementing digital
apps, but it has given me the ability to sift through and choose the right ones for the future.

Question 2:
Google Classroom is a learning management system app that gives the teacher and class the
ability to access all of the Google Apps. Using the cloud, teachers and students can share
documents, submit work, send messages, and more all within their assigned class. Google
Classroom is incredibly easy to access and simple for students to understand. Everything I use
for classes revolves around Google, whether it is my presentation slides, documents,
worksheets, etc., so utilizing Google Classroom makes it easy to post and share things with my
students. They can easily access our class slides at home if they are absent and can find any
information that is presented during the class on their “Class.” This app lets you create classes
and assign students to them, so they can only view what is posted inside of their class. You can
also easily send messages to communicate with students. Overall, it is an easy app to use and
something I love having in the classroom.

iDoceo is an organizational app for teachers. You can create an endless number of classes and
add unlimited amounts of students to each one. Although it is only available on Apple products,
you pay for it one time and get every ability, and every update that comes to the app. iDoceo is
a gradebook, planner, diary, timetable, creates seating charts, manages resources, has
notepads, and is configurable with PDF, XLS, and TXT documents. I have never tried iDoceo,
but have wanted to for a while. Based on the reviews, it is one of the most customizable
organization apps for teachers in the classroom. After evaluating the app, I think I am finally
convinced to download it for the next school year!

FlipGrid is like a vlog-based discussion board for students. Teachers can create classes and
assign students, or they can share a class code for enrollment into the class. Within the class,
teachers can create discussion boards or assignments for their students, and those students
post a video or vlog-like post in response. Videos can either be uploaded or created directly on
the app itself. FlipGrid can be directly accessed while using Microsoft Teams and the videos
posted can be downloaded with the permission of the original author. I have used this app for
class assignments on performance-based tasks and it has given my students a fun and
interactive way to post assessments and create products. With the use of FlipGrid, submitting
music assessments doesn’t seem like such a bad thing!

Class Dojo provides a method of communication, as well as an incentive system for students.
This app allows students to create their own little “monster” character that can earn points on
different categories. As an app for encouraging classroom management, Class Dojo allows
teachers to reward the dojo monsters points for things like being on time, participation, working
hard, etc. When teachers access their class on the dojo, the amount of points each student has
is visible and can be easily changed to add or subtract points. Teachers can also link parents to
their student’s account so that they can see how their students are doing in class. Class Dojo
offers methods of communication between teachers and parents so that they can easily see the
progress of their students each day. It also allows students to create digital portfolios, teachers
can use it as a classroom remote to make groups, and also has little tools like a timer, a noise
meter, and a “pair share” option. I began using Class Dojo near the end of this school year and I
will be using it again in 2022/2023 for my students. They enjoyed the incentives and worked
hard to gain individual points, as well as class points to work for a reward in music class.

Nearpod is an app built to improve student engagement. It is designed to work on iPads,

iPhones, Macs, and ChromeBooks for easy student and teacher use. With Nearpod, teachers
can easily share slides, assignments, assessments, and documents. Teachers can also set up
experiences for students and engage in VR field trips, games, a virtual whiteboard, and real-
time student collaboration on assignments. Nearpod can be customized based on the teacher’s
content, but also offers supplemental lessons for a variety of subject areas. My coworkers use
Nearpod and love the application. Being a music teacher, I never thought that it would be useful
for me, but after investigating the app and seeing the numerous options you have when using it,
I realized it is not just designed for classroom teachers. Nearpod is something that I would like
to explore using in the fall.

Edpuzzle is a huge app for flipped classroom learning. Teachers can use Edpuzzle to make
videos the topic of a lesson by embedding text, voiceovers, questions, and notes directly on the
video. Personal videos can be uploaded to the app, but you can also import them from
YouTube, TED, or Khan Academy. This app is ideal for virtual learning, asynchronous learning,
or for absent students to make-up absent work. Teachers are able to personalize the content on
the video to improve student engagement and keep students on track while watching. This app
is something that I have utilized during virtual learning to promote student responses. When
given the opportunity to interact with video lessons, students paid more attention to the content
they were learning and were excited to do the little benchmark activities that were embedded
into the lesson.
Kahoot! is an app that encourages studying through games and quizzes. Teachers can create
their own quizzes or use pre-made ones by other users. With Kahoot!, students can log on by
entering the game pin and creating their screen name. Each question is timed and whoever
answers the correct answer the fastest, gets the most points. Students can play individually or in
a team mode in-person, or through virtual learning. Kahoot! is an incredibly fun way to get
students practicing recalling their knowledge on certain topics and has added a lot of fun,
competitive tension to my classroom. I have created my own quizzes and used ones made by
other teachers and it has improved student engagement every time.

Halo AR is an augmented reality application that can only be downloaded on a phone or tablet.
Since it requires the user to be mobile, it is not compatible with ChromeBooks or laptops. With
Halo, you begin by taking a picture of a flat object or image that you want to use as your “trigger
image.” Next, you choose an overlay for that image. This can be a video, another image, a link,
a song, whatever you choose. Last, you finalize the details and publish the project. When you
use the app to scan over the trigger image, whatever you overlaid in the second step will show
up on the app. I have used this app during the art show at my school to display students’
original composition pieces by scanning their own “album art” they created and displayed as the
trigger image. This app adds a whole new level of demonstrating art and has been one of the
best AR apps I have found. I would recommend it to any teacher wanting to introduce simple
augmented reality with their students.

Khan Academy is an online learning software that offers endless amounts of educational
exercises for students to master different skills. Khan Academy offers different lessons, videos,
exercises, and materials that track the progress of users. Teachers can find courses or
exercises from the app and assign them to students as practice or assignments to complete.
The app will track student progress on a spreadsheet that teachers can easily access. I do not
use Khan Academy in the music room, but it is an important educational app that students can
use to enhance skills in different areas like math, reading, and writing especially.

Notability is an annotation app that allows users to present, edit, and record over any uploaded
PDF. Students are able to access any documents that their teachers share with them and edit
them in whatever note taking method that works for them. Teachers can also present their
screens like a whiteboard and show the notes they are taking or what they are writing while it is
happening. Teachers can work through problems or demonstrate a model for their students
digitally, in real time. You can begin your notes on the app with any template to help you stay
organized. Notability is incredibly simple to use and very user friendly. It doesn’t take long to
explain, even to younger students. I like this app because of the simplicity and the ownership
that my students take over their work when they are using it. My students work independently
and confidently when writing, recording, and sharing their notated work.

BrainPOP is an educational app that has been around since I was in elementary school. This
app offers mini-lessons, activities, and quizzes that are shaped around one topic, but paced to
only take up to 10-20 minutes. Students can learn about topics in any subject, from music, to
math, to science, to health, and even engineering. BrainPOP also offers downloadable apps for
different areas of their content. There is an app for their featured movie, ELL, and apps for
different languages. Students can utilize the mini units offered by BrainPOP to enhance their
learning on a content area, or to practice skills they already possess. I like using music lessons
on BrainPOP because my students are very engaged with Tim and Moby and the quizzes are
always fun!