Directions to Use a Switch to Scan Playlists on YouTube

  

 

Headphones Options for Special Needs

Many times our students can't tolerate headphones to listen to music, be it because of sensory reasons, positioning reasons or something else entirely classroom staff and families run out of options after trying the standard options of ear buds, headphones and behind-the-neck-headphones. After moving up the ladder to the expensive ultra padded options and having those fail as well sometimes you need to explore other choices:

Headbands

• Music Infused Headbands
• Vonio Bone Conduction Headband
• Sleep Phone Headband
• EarMuff Headphones
  

Hats

• Headphone Beanie Hat
• Nike Hatphone
  
• Do It Yourself Headphone Hat Instructions
  

Unique Earphones

• Custom Earmold Earphones
• Ear Canal Options
  
• Bone Conduction Headphones
• Water Proof Headphones
  

Pillow Speakers

• Memory Foam Pillow Speaker
• Organic Sherpa Pillow Speaker
• Fuzzy Pillow Speaker
• Neck Pillow Speaker
  

Other options include child size headphones (if sizing is an issue), speaker stuffed animals and speaker cases and bags.

Music Video of the Day

Since the dawn of an LCD projector connected to an internet enabled computer in my classroom (for which I am eternally grateful) we have evolved into watching one or two music videos on Google video per day. It started with Christmas songs, one of my students loves Christmas music year round and I was happy to oblige in December. Now we showcase a different music video or two everyday. The teaching assistants and the I make an effort to showcase all different kinds of music. We have been surprised to find out which students are responsive to classic Johnny Cash (with animated stick figures) versus Elton John singing Crocodile Rock on the Muppet Show versus Twisted Sister performing We're Not Gonna Take It.

During this evolution to daily morning meeting music videos I have developed the following list of educational purposes in showing the videos:

• introduction of age appropriate music
• introduction of an age appropriate leisure activity (you don't get more "teen" than watching music videos)
• the linking certain music to certain lessons we will study later in the day (We Shall Overcome for Martin Luther King Day)
• creation of cultural currency
• use of the videos to teach identification of emotions (and communication of those feelings)
• use of the videos to teach identification of like/dislike (and communication of like/dislike)
• use of music as a transition support for moving from a group activity (morning meeting) to our most intensive individual work of the day

and of course, most of all, music for the sake of music!

This Year's Hot Toy in the Classroom

I bought a roll up piano toy on e-Bay over the summer. When school started in the fall the student I had in mind when I bought it was no longer in my class, luckily one of my new students loves it as much as he would have and another student has started to take an interest in it as well. Everyone's favorite part is the "demo" feature which plays a variety of well known tunes. Our piano is made of silicon, but I would imagine some contain latex, you might want to ask before you purchase if that is an issue.

Precision Songs: ABA Music to Teach Functional Language

Precision Songs is a series of music recording and books/worksheets designed for students with autism and other developmental disabilities. The aim is to teach functional language through music. The song uses a method that involves repeating a pattern of language in order to illustrate a concept. Although some music is easily identified as children's or folk music (the Proud Song is The Ants Go Marching) many are not, however it is doubtful that this music will pass muster as age appropriate past elementary school. That being said I can see this music being an excellent resource in speech therapy and the classroom in early childhood and elementary settings.

Right now there is a half off sale on bundles (CD and books together).

Please note: Although nothing indicates the CDs/Books have religious content (except the obvious religious Sing to Show What I Believe) the website does contain religious links and the news letter has religious comments.

Old Dog, New Tricks: Turning Cassette Tapes into MP3s

We joke around a lot in our classroom. One of the running jokes in the room is about our ancient classroom nurse (who is actually definitely not ancient and is a very good sport about the jokes, including programming herself into the classroom phone as, "Old One"). Last week she asked me something about cassette tapes and I informed her that you can transfer cassettes to MP3 for free using one of those cords that come with every Big Mac and Step by Step from Ablenet (we have at least six of those cords), a Walkman and free software called Audacity. It is up to you to decide if the title "Old Dog, New Tricks" is in reference to the act of converting cassettes to MP3s or in reference to our classroom nurse learning how to do it.

Anyways, over the next couple of days she picked up a Walkman somewhere and asked me to explain the process. We never had time. Yet she came in this morning and told me she had already copied several of her old cassettes to her computer. I was impressed, mostly because I thought I was the only person I knew who was nerdy enough to actually research and do such a thing, but also because this woman still uses 3.5 inch floppy disks to save things on (to her credit she also carries a flash drive hanging around her neck).

To make a short story longer I thought that transferring some of those classroom casssettes to MP3 might be a productive summer project for those of us who have dozens of music or book on tape cassettes in the classroom. So when you pack up your room and leave for the summer be sure to grab your cassettes and one of those cables that comes with the Big Mac and Step By Steps.

Here are the easy directions for basic kinds of people. These directions fo not include how to reduce hiss, clean up the audio or anything like that. Links to better directions follow. Good luck.

Oh, one more thing. Make sure you have enough space on your hard drive or record onto an external hard drive as to not clog up your computer with "Curious George Goes to the Hospital" and "Ella Jenkins Multi-Cultural Songs".

1. Download Audacity. Feel a little overwhelmed by its features. Realize you will not need many of them. Remind yourself all those features are free.
2. Connect your cassette player to your computer. Likely, if you are using a Walkman and the "microphone" input on your computer your 1/8th inch "male to male" Ablenet cable will work just fine. Oddly (or not oddly if you are nerdy about these things) the quality of the cassette player matters a lot more than the quality or the cable.
3. Open Audacity. Start the tape. Hit record on Audacity. Let the tape play.
4. Save the tracks.

Links to better directions:

• Tape to CD (these are the best directions I could find)
  
• How to Do Things
  
• Wiki How (does not use Audacity examples)
  

Website of the Day: Mixwit

Mixwit is a free web 2.0 application that allows you to make "Mix Tapes" using music from Skreemr and Seeqpod. You can then decorate the "tape" using the skins provided or by uploading a picture. These mixes can then be played from the Mixwit site or embedded into a blog or other website.

I think this will be a great application for my classroom. I can make mixes of my student's favorite (school appropriate) music, load it up and then put the mouse cursor on the "next song" arrow/button so that the student can cycle through the songs just by hitting her or his switch (thankfully it starts over at track one when you click through all the songs).

Here is a sample mixwit you can play right in my blog, I made it for my friend's five year old (who has been singing at open mics since she was three).

Adaptive Music Links

• Choosing an instrument for a disabled player - an article and guide

Switch and Similar technologies to Access Making Music

• Magic Flute - adaptive musical instrument and breathing exercise device
• Quintet - switch accessed music making device
  
• Switch Jam - music making software for switch users
• Escape - music writing software for switch users and here is a review of it
  
• Grid Play - more music software for switch users and here is a review
  
• RPI Head Movement Software - article about new camera mouse like software to make music that may be on the market soon
• Soundbeam - music through movement via light beam switches
• Junxion - alternate access accessible composing software
• Dynavox - this AAC device features MIDI composing software called song editor
  

Adaptive Device Bands/Musicians

• Drake Music Group
• The Headbangers
• Sara Sings (using her Dynavox)
  

Physically Adapted Traditional Instruments

• A Day's Work
• TFH
  

Musical Instrument Mounts

• A Days Work
• The Drummers Lounge
  

Idea

• Pianeto - onscreen piano keyboard could be accessed with any mouse emulator or Intellikey with a custom overlay
  

Happy New Years Teachers!

I think for educators this weekend is really New Years, so enjoy. It might still be 80 degrees and humid here, but it is time to go back to school! I have spent the week setting up my classroom in a new building (my entire classroom including students, paraprofessionals and about 1/2 of my professional team moved with me). The new building was, well, a dump. It has promise though and I think things will be great (provided I get some chairs in the room by the first day). I have some new ideas I will be trying out and I'm excited about my thematic units.

Coming next week I will return to four to five posts a week (time to curb my summer addiction to Second Life). I will have lots of pictures of the new classroom and some of the organization and classroom management ideas I am trying. I will also have more of what people have come to expect in terms of website links, educational products, AT and AAC reviews, and more.

For now I will leave you with my back to school play list from iTunes:
Music
Hit Me with Your Best Shot - Joan Jett
It's My Life - No Doubt
Me and Julio Down By the School Yard - Simon and Garfunkle
What If - Lucinda Williams
If I Had a Million Dollars - Bare Naked Ladies
People are Strange - The Doors
No Cheap Thrill - Suzanne Vega
High Hopes - Doris Day (Seriously, I'm in my early thirties and I have Doris Day on my iPod, don't ask!)
Bonus Track - Welcome Back Kotter Theme Song

AudioBook
Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire - Rafe Esquith

(This is a wonderful and inspiring book. One of the things I loath about books like The Freedom Writers or even the Torey Hayden books is that those people left teaching! They don't do it anymore! Rafe Esquith is a teacher to the end, not a writer or professor using classroom teaching as a stepping stone. He also endlessly touches upon each of my core beliefs one after another. Things like the true test of a students behavior is how they are when you are not there. Way to go Mr. Esquith!)

Free MP3 Music Downloads for Kids and Others

Looking for some new music for your class, but out of money? Below are links to free music!

These links provide kids music in MP3 form (all are compatible with iTunes, I tried it, although you may have to right click and chose "save link as"):

• eFolk Music - Children(not checked for appropriateness by me)
• Free Kids Music
  
• Linda Book's Children's Music
• Kids Music Web
• Kid Tunes by Dayvel
• Mac Idol (not checked for appropriateness by me)
  

Here are links to free MP3 that aren't for kids, but are probably classroom safe:

• Russian Folk Music
• Folkdance Library
  

Finally a link to kids music in WAV format:

• I Love WAVS
  

Calming Music

A number of research studies have verified what new-age folks believed all along, that music set to a slow tempo, specifically about 60 beats per minute, calms people and animals. This calming effect decreases anxiety and increases learning, concentration and healing.

It seems the human body will relax into such a musical rhythm, slowing its biorhythms to match the music. Knowing this there is a movement to use 60 beat per minute music in different settings such as hospitals, rehabilitation unit (especially for TBI), and special education classrooms.

In fact a number of companies now distribute music for such purposes including:

• Music in the Classroom
• Rhythmic Medicine
• Advanced Brain Technologies
• Incredible Horizons
  

Incompetech has free music, some of which has a listed tempo of between 40-65 bpm. There are also free tools available to measure beat per minute from Shareware Connection and Konfabulator (Yahoo Widgets).

60 beat per minute music may be just the think to slow everyone down during the end of the year wildness.

"Tuned In To Learning"

"Tuned into Learning" a series of music CDs includes "Skill Building for Students with Multiple Disabilities". Ten songs, including some written to be used with a Big Mack Switch are presented for use in classrooms for learners with severe disabilities. This CD, the others in the Tuned into Learning series and more music for special needs students are available from Songs For Teaching.