The iPad as a Studio Communication Tool
I’ve stated this before, and I’ll state it again: communication with parents is absolutely essential in my studio.
Many parents come in before or after their students’ lessons or wait in the waiting room, so I have a chance to briefly chat and give a progress update. But other parents simply drop their students off and wait for them in the car, so I rarely see them face-to-face.
For that reason, I implemented weekly lesson notes about four years ago. Up until this past spring, I’ve sent my students home with written assignment sheets and lesson notes in their binders. However, with so many students to see every day, I hated the thought of going through so much paper — not to mention all the time spent handwriting notes.
So I whipped up a notes template on Pages (a word processing app I have on both my Macbook Pro and iPad 2) and then created a document for each day of the week. Each document has a page dedicated to every student I see on that day, with the notes templates all ready to be completed during lessons.
At the end of the day after my last student has left, I copy and paste each student’s lesson note into an email to either the student (if he/she is an adult) or the parents. That way, we both have an electronic record of everything that happened in the lesson, as well as any assignments.
I also include a reminder at the bottom of my notes template to students and parents that they can log practice time, comments, and questions about that week’s lesson in their account on my website.
I knew the iPad 2 would be great for educational music apps and playing and recording music, but this use of it is worth the price alone. Do you use your iPad or another electronic device to write and share lesson notes, or do you stick to paper and pen?
Nancy
I have to say that I still prefer my good ol’ composition notebook method. My students don’t have regular access to an iPad, PC, or printer – nor do I want to inconvenience a parent to have to set the student up with the electronics at home. I want them to have a hard copy to take with them. I also want them to be in charge of their lesson plan, not their parents, although parents may always glance at the notebook. Am I the only one these days that still prefers paper and pencil when it comes to student lesson plans?
W. Hay
I started doing this using the MTH lesson note facility but have found that Evernote is the best option. I write lesson notes straight into each student’s evernote notebook on my tablet during the lesson wherever it takes place. The notebook synchronises with the corresponding notebook on the student’s/parents device and it saves the extra time spent emailing notes. Parents and students know where the notes are so there is no excuse that they didn’t know what to practise. It saves me writing/copying things twice!
Noreen W.
I own a 27″ iMac and a 13″ Mac Airbook, and endorse Apple products. However, after buying an iPad, I was totally underwhelmed, and took mine back to the store where I bought it from. I think that it’s find for incoming messages and gaming, but isn’t what it’s cracked up to be for those who need to do a lot of typing at a fast rate of speed. The hunt and peck typing on an iPad with 2 fingers is like typing in slow motion for those of use who are proficient with all 10 fingers.
Now, I know what you’re going to say…. you can buy a keyboard for an iPad….and I did that. However, the total cost of an iPad, a case, and a keyboard was over $1000, and I discovered that I had just turned it into a “laptop”.
So back it went to the store, where I bought a much faster, more proficient Apple product, an Airbook. It is easier to type on, and $250 cheaper.
Another reason for returning the iPad was because security was unacceptable. Certain applications like GMail couldn’t be closed on an iPad, and it was unacceptable to have my email box open while in students’ hands. Worst possible scenario would be that in only 10 seconds or so, a student could send out an email from my account which compromises me in some way. A teacher’s reputation is ‘everything’! It can and does happen, and a teacher in my own city lost a job because of a situation like this. Again, on a full laptop, you can log off your email; but on an iPad, you can’t.
Also, your iPad in the hands of students opens the door to charges on your credit card that you might not expect. I am still trying to figure out how 5 new songs appeared in iTunes that I didn’t download, and I’m unimpressed that iTunes billed me automatically for them. All you have to do is to take your eyes off a student for 20 or 30 seconds, and things like this can happen.
Now, to answer your question….
We all get a lot of emails, and I was disappointed to find that my students’ parents are so deluged that they don’t open my studio newsletters. It always amazes me when parents are unaware of music exam deadlines, student recitals, and so on, because they haven’t had the time to read and digest what was sent. Newsletters are only sent every month or two, so they aren’t being inundated by me, and I assumed that they knew that there were important things enclosed; however, that is not the case. I bought anybody would open weekly emails, or print anything that’s written in them. Some students don’t have their own email addresses, or even have a computer anywhere near their instrument. Therefore, my piano students are required to purchase full-size coil-bound notebooks, that I write in, and these notebooks sit right in front of them on their pianos. This is the Information Age, and they have the information they’re needing “front and centre”, up close and personal, right there in their face, and its gets the job done beautifully.
Carol
I also use a spiral bound notebook to record each student’s weekly assignment. Parents are encouraged to check the notebook to ensure that their student is practicing the correct pieces. Parents can also write a note to me via the notebook or email. One of the main advantages is using a paper notebook is that I can easily flip back a few pages to see what we worked on last or how long we have been on the current piece. (I call it ‘my brain’ and students get quite a kick out of bringing my brain to their lesson each week.)
I have an i-pad and an android notebook for music games, but seldom use either. I also have two laptops, one for my business, and the other for online theory games (this is the one that I tend to use the most for students, especially siblings who have back to back lessons).
I think that the most important thing is to communicate to the student and the parent in whatever way works best for the teacher.