G.A.F.E. + Chrome + Music Teacher=An Innovative Way to Teach Music Susan E. Basalik, Methacton School District, Eagleville, PA 2017 ISTE Conference June 28, 2017 1. Why G.A.F.E. and Chrome?(BTW:Now G Suite for Education!) ● Cloud based ● Chrome browser can be used with any operating system ● Free (or mostly) ● Highly interactive ● Ease of learning ● Ease of sharing ● Ease of collaborating ● Automatically saving ● Options for mobile devices ● Wide variety of compatible apps developed by Google or third party ● Chrome browser works with many different extensions ● Core G Suite Apps (Docs, Sheets, Forms) have useful add-ons to optimize workflow ● Core G Suite Apps (Docs, Sheets, Slides) are similar to MS Office and Apple iWork 2. Why not G.A.F.E. and Chrome? ● Need an internet connection. It is possible to save docs, slides, sheets for offline use. ● Compatible apps might be more freemium than free (the rule of 9) ● Perception that Google has become pervasive and invasive ● Core G Suite Apps lack some of the features of MS Office or Apple ● Core G Suite Apps mobile versions are not as robust ● Perception that there is no security for items created. Sharing settings can be set up to keep files secure. 3. Are there differences between personal Google Accounts and School Google Accounts? ● Educational accounts are considered organizational accounts. As such, more options are available. ● Unlimited free storage in Google Drive in a school account. Limited free storage in a personal account. ● Format of apps might be different or not available. Example: video calling. Hangouts will continue to be available for educational accounts, however Hangouts will no longer be available for personal accounts later this year. 4. Apps, Extensions, Add-ons. What’s the difference? ● Apps have a built-in user-interface, are highly interactive, and can perform a ​ variety of tasks. Apps work with a browser, and can be optimized for better performance for certain browsers. ● Extensions do not have a built-in user interface. They extend the functionality of ​ the browser. ● Add-Ons work specifically with Docs, Sheets, or Forms. They extend the ​ functionality of the app for which they were developed. 5. Twenty for the Toolbox: Useful Apps, Extensions, and Add-Ons 1. Google Docs: Word processing app. Many similar features to Word and Pages. Some formatting differences. Lacks built-in mail merge capability. (Use an add-on to have this feature.) Ability to create documents with active hyperlinks is a plus. https://docs.google.com ​ 2. Google Sheets: Spreadsheet app, similar to Excel and Numbers. Lacks some formatting tools. Additional formatting tools come from add-ons such as Text to Columns and Split Names. https://sheets.google.com ​ 3. Google Slides: Presentation app, similar to Powerpoint and Keynote. Not as many templates or animation features. Recent development: can add videos to presentation from any source. Back channel option available and can be used as an assessment tool. https://slides.google.com ​ 4. Google Forms: App that allows for easy creation and completion of surveys, lessons, and assessments. Results from Forms are populated into a Google Sheet. Allows addition of image files from Google Drive and video files from YouTube. Differentiated instruction and assessment possible via “go to page based on answer” option. https://forms.google.com ​ 5. YouTube: Well-known resource for videos on any subject. Tight integration with other Google products. https://www.youtube.com/ ​ 6. Google Translate: Easy means of translating words from one language to another. https://translate.google.com ​ 7. Google Hangouts: Google’s video chat app. Can host up to fifteen callers at the same time. Works well for group discussions and talking to people locally and globally. https://hangouts.google.com ​ 8. Google Keep: Google’s all purpose note taking app. Syncs across all platforms. Allows image entry; works with Docs. https://keep.google.com ​ 9. Google Drawings: Allows creation of basic images which can then be inserted directly into Docs. https://drawings.google.com ​ 10.Google Sites: Google’s website building app. Good for creating basic websites. Allows easy inclusion of all things Google, especially YouTube. https://sites.google.com/new 11.Screencastify: Free third party extension which allows screen recording. Useful for sharing demonstration videos. Paid version allows “picture in picture” video creation. Find in Web Store. Another screencasting app is Loom. This is a very new app which offers “picture in picture” without cost. ​ 12.Adblock Plus: Third party extension which blocks ads while using Chrome browser. Very useful if showing something on Chrome browser while students are viewing . Find in Web Store. Also look at Adblock for ​ YouTube (another third party extension, but not made by the same group as ​ Adblock Plus) which blocks ads on YouTube. 13.Goo.gl URL Shortener: Shortens long URLs. Find in Web Store. Another alternative is tinyurl.com which allows you to create aliases of shortened links. 14.Chrome equivalents of GarageBand/Mixcraft: Either Soundation ​ https://chrome.soundation.com or Soundtrap https://www.soundtrap.com ​ ​ ​ Both are loop-based apps which function similar to GarageBand, although lacking many of GarageBand’s advanced features. Free and premium versions available. Make sure that you look at the Chrome version of ​ ​ Soundation. The other version uses Adobe Flash (which is not supported by the Chrome Browser.) 15.Chrome music notation apps: Either Noteflight https://noteflight.com or ​ ​ ​ Flat https://flat.io Both suitable for score creation, allow online file sharing ​ ​ ​ and collaborating. Not as robust as Finale or other stand-alone notation apps. Free and premium versions available. 16.File conversion apps: Either Zamzar, Audio Converter, or CloudConvert. ​ Allow conversion of files; useful for converting AAC or WMA to mp3, etc. Audio Converter and CloudConvert can be found in Web Store as extensions. 17.VexTab: An interesting add-on for Docs that uses code to create music notation within a document. Fun to try. Find in Web Store. 18.Flubaroo: Sheets add-on that allows for easy grading of assessment data that has been entered into a Google Sheet. Find in Web Store. Other useful Sheets add-ons are Advanced Find and Replace, Remove Duplicates, ​ and AutoCrat (a type of mail merge add-on.) ​ ​ 19.Awesome Screenshot: Extension that allows one-click screenshot of browser window. Find in Web Store. 20.Other useful add-ons for Docs include Doc to Form (allows docs to be made ​ ​ into forms suitable for Google Forms), Open Clip Art, and Extensis Fonts ​ ​ ​ (allows more fonts to be added to Docs.) 6. Additional Sources of Information 1. www.shakeuplearning.com This is a web presence created by Casey Bell that is an ​ excellent resource for all things associated with G Suite and Chrome. 2. http://midnightmusic.com.au This is a website created by Katie Wardrobe that ​ provides good resources for music education technology. 3. https://edutrainingcenter.withgoogle.com This is Google’s training site for teacher ​ certification. 4. Research Google+ groups to learn more about G Suite. 5. http://www.iste.org/ International Society for Technology in Education. The world’s ​ largest and most comprehensive organization devoted to technology use in education. If you want more information on how I am using G Suite and Chrome, please visit: https://sites.google.com/view/GSuite4MusEd This is a website that I am creating that will include the presentation that accompanies this document and some instructional videos that will demonstrate how use the apps and extensions listed above to enhance instruction. Here is the qr code for the site: Here is the qr code for the presentation that accompanies this document: Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] if you have questions, ​ ​ suggestions, or comments. Thank you for attending today! .