Last year, I tried something new at my school. I set up a night for parents to come and view music written by their children. I called it a Composer Fair. I had no idea how popular (or not popular) it would be. Turns out it was very successful, and also a great chance to explain the kind of music learning that goes on in the classroom.
If you want to find out more about how to create your own Composer Fair, click here to view my original post. This post will focus on the technology component that I adde this year. One quick suggestion that I wanted to mention is to schedule your Composer Fair in conjunction with another school event. It usually doesn’t take more than a couple minutes for parents to see and hear their child’s song, so I usually schedule my fair on Book Fair night and set up right in front of the Media Center. It works great!
I liked the Composer Fair so much the first time that I decided to do it again this year. And, I added one super cool addition this year! Through the use of an App called Aurasma, I was able to make images come to life, so parents could HEAR their children’s creations. By taking a picture of a student, and then linking a video to that picture (aka trigger image), you can scan the picture with your phone and the video will play on the phone!
Featured composers were displayed on a poster board, along with the song they had written. Each poster contained a different grade level. Students loved hearing their own songs, but they also enjoyed listening wot what others had created. I loved seeing students recognize friends from older grade levels (in their picture) and scan the picture to hear what they were doing. What a good way to get a discussion started about what they will be learning when they reach that grade level!
When the Composer Fair was over, I sent home the song and the picture, along with a letter explaining how to use the Aurasma App. That way, anyone who missed out on the fun of Composer Fair Night could still hear the music created by their child.
Want to find out how to create your own Auras? Click here to find out more. Cherie Herring has some excellent music/tech advise, and it was from her presentation that I found out about the Aurasma App in the first place.
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