In this series of articles, we’re highlighting the different options found in the SproutBeat Navigation Sidebar. Part 5 covers the fifth icon: Notes
How is SproutBeat different from books
You know, with traditional books, it used to be quite a challenge to figure out if students were finishing their homework or struggling with certain concepts until they showed up for lessons. I still remember those old days when students misunderstood a theory concept, but we wouldn’t find out until a whole week later!
But thanks to the Notes feature in SproutBeat, we’ve changed the game. Now, students can ask questions about their music theory assignments and get help while they’re working on their homework, even during the week. It’s all about fostering communication and support.
Adding Notes for your students
So, how do you attach a note to a game or worksheet for all your students? It’s super easy!
First, just tap on the game or worksheet you want to add a note to. Then, click on those three little dots in the top right corner. Next, tap on the message icon and start typing your message. Hit enter, and voila! Now, whenever you assign that content to your students, they’ll see the attached message.
We recommend keeping it simple and generic, like a quick tip such as ‘Double-check the clef!’ or ‘Remember, the relative minor is the 6th of the major key.’ But what if you need to send a note to a specific student about a specific homework assignment? No problem! Just go to the student’s ‘Assigned’ section first, then follow the same steps to attach a note tailored just for them.
And here’s the best part – you can even write or draw on the student’s assignment to provide examples if they need extra help. Everything happens instantly online, so your students can complete their assignments well before their next lesson.
Staying engaged during the week
I’ve got to share this with you – I have this amazing 9-year-old student who sends me notes about his assignments, and it just warms my heart. It’s incredible to see how this tool is making learning so much more interactive and engaging for everyone involved!
In this series of articles, we’re highlighting the different options found in the SproutBeat Navigation Sidebar. Part 3 covers the fourth icon: Groups.
Creating groups in SproutBeat is a fantastic way to organize your students efficiently. Whether you want to group them by class, level, or lesson day, it’s a handy tool for streamlined teaching. Here’s how you can create and manage groups.
Create a New Group:
Click on the “+” sign in the top right corner to create a group.
Name your group, making sure it’s something descriptive and easy to remember.
Choose a color for the group, allowing for quick visual identification.
Assign the group to an employee teacher, if necessary, or leave it as “None” if you’re the teacher.
Click “Add” to create the group.
Adding Students to a Group:
Once the group is created, click on the number under the “Students” column.
In the Manage Students window, click the “+” sign.
Tap to select or deselect students to add to your group.
Sorting Groups:
Click and drag the “≡” icon to rearrange the order of your groups. This will automatically update the order of the groups on the List of Students page as well.
With these easy steps, you can group your students based on various criteria, making it a breeze to assign the same homework or activities to specific sets of students. This feature proves invaluable, especially in group class settings, as it simplifies the teaching process and ensures a fair and consistent learning experience for all students within a group.
Additionally, SproutBeat’s group functionality opens up creative possibilities, such as hosting competitions during breaks. By assigning the same content to grouped students, you can foster healthy competition and maintain the learning momentum even during downtime.
So, whether you’re organizing classes, assigning homework, or hosting engaging competitions, SproutBeat’s group feature is your key to simplified, organized, and exciting teaching experiences! Happy teaching and competing!
In this series of articles, we’re highlighting the different options found in the SproutBeat Navigation Sidebar. Part 3 covers the third icon: Employee Teachers. (If you missed our in-depth article on the SproutBeat Library, click here to read Part 1.)
If you run a multi-teacher music school and want to integrate SproutBeat into your teaching methods, we’ve got you covered. For every 10 student accounts, you’ll be able to create an employee teacher account.
Here’s how it works:
Studio 10: Includes 10 student accounts, one admin account (that’s you!), and 1 employee teacher.
Studio 20: Consists of 20 student accounts, one admin account, and 2 employee teachers.
Studio 30: Features 30 student accounts, one admin account, and 3 employee teachers, and so on.
What can the administrator do?
As the admin, you have the power to handle all the administrative tasks, such as creating student and teacher accounts, organizing groups, managing student and teacher accounts, and updating plan/payment information. Plus, you have full access to the SproutBeat library, making it a comprehensive tool for both teaching and administration.
What can employee teachers do in SproutBeat?
Employee teachers, while not having access to account management functions, get to enjoy the SproutBeat library and have access to their connected students. This setup equips them with all they need to be effective teachers in your music school.
Getting Started
Creating a teacher account is a straightforward process, similar to setting up a student account. Once the account is ready, you can easily connect students to the respective teacher. For a step-by-step guide, be sure to watch this tutorial video.
Happy teaching and managing your multi-teacher music school with SproutBeat!
In this series of articles, we’re highlighting the different options found in the SproutBeat Navigation Sidebar. Part 2 covers the second icon: the List of Students. (If you missed our in-depth article on the SproutBeat Library, click here to read Part 1.)
Have you ever wished you had psychic powers? Well, with SproutBeat, you can! Imagine having the ability to see exactly how much homework your students have completed and how well they did on each assignment before they even show up for their lessons. Sounds amazing, right?
That’s where this student tab comes in – it’s your gateway to your students’ homework stats. Here you can effortlessly track how much homework is being completed and get a clear view of the average scores achieved by your students.
But that’s not all! This is also the place where you can create new student accounts, manage their online homework activities, and handle various other student-related tasks. It’s like your control center for everything related to your students’ progress and engagement.
1. Create a new student account
Creating a new student account in SproutBeat is a breeze! Just look for the “+” sign, give it a click, and enter your student’s first and last name. If you’re the teacher, no need to worry about the “Teacher” field – leave it as “None.” If you run a multi-teacher studio, this is where you can connect students to those teachers who work for you. That way, each teacher can efficiently manage their respective students.
Once the student account is set up, consider changing the password to something more memorable. We all know how important it is to have an easy-to-remember password!
You’ll discover a wealth of information about each student when you click on their name. The “Homework and Points” area has five buttons to choose from:
Assigned: This is where you can see which assignments your student hasn’t completed yet. You can also manage and delete assignments here, ensuring everything is organized and up to date.
Turned In: When a student completes their worksheets, they will appear here so you can look over their work and give them any feedback.
Completed: Here you’ll find a detailed list of assignments that are finished. It provides you with essential information such as the date of completion, the grade, and the points earned. (Make sure to customize the date range at the top so it displays the stats you are interested in.)
Total Points: Clicking on this button takes you to the leaderboard, where you can see how many points each student has earned. You have the flexibility to set up the calendar for monthly or semesterly studio contests, adding an element of friendly competition to your teaching studio.
Point Balance: If you have a reward system in place, this button helps you keep track of the points redeemed by your students. It’s a handy feature to manage incentives and encourage student engagement.
3. Manage student accounts
In addition to managing assignments, SproutBeat provides convenient options for handling various aspects of student accounts.
Groups: You can create specific groups to organize your students based on their level, age, or any other category that suits your teaching approach. (This can also save a lot of time when you’re deciding which assignments to send to your students.)
Password Reset: If a student forgets their password or needs it reset for any reason, you can easily initiate a password reset from here.
Student Details: This option allows you to edit crucial student information, fix spelling mistakes, or change their username and email address.
Drop or Delete: If a student needs to take a break from lessons, you can pause their account temporarily. Alternatively, if a student is leaving your studio permanently, you have the option to delete their account completely. These features give you control over your student roster, adapting it to your studio’s changing needs.
With these editing options, managing student accounts becomes straightforward, allowing you to tailor each student’s experience and provide a personalized learning journey for every student.
In this series of articles, we’re highlighting the different options found in the SproutBeat Navigation Sidebar. Part 1 is all about the first icon: the SproutBeat Library.
When you first visit the SproutBeat Library, you’ll see thumbnails of our most recent games and worksheets. We want to keep things fresh and exciting yet not overwhelming, so we limit it to no more than 30 resources at a time. If something catches your eye, we highly recommend organizing it into your very own “My Library” (see below). Trust us, it’s a game-changer!
2. Categories
Along the top menu bar above the SproutBeat Library, you’ll see four options to help filter through our 3,000+ resources. The first is “Categories,” which divides all our content into roughly 50 different topics like chords, ear training, certain holidays, music history, etc. Each resource is assigned to several relevant categories so you can quickly find what you need.
For instance, maybe you’re looking for ear training games that help your students identify the four basic chord qualities. You’ll find it not only under “Ear Training” but also in “Chords.” We like to cover all the bases. But wait, there’s more! Once you’ve chosen a category, you can further filter the results by selecting any number of detailed tags that appear near the top. Toggle on and off these tags as you drill down to find specific types of chord qualities you want your students to review.
The SproutBeat library is absolutely massive, boasting over 3,000 interactive music theory games and worksheets. It’s like a treasure trove for teaching! We get it, though – such a vast collection can be overwhelming, especially if you’re new to the app. That’s why we created the “Methods” option.
In this section, we’ve pre-organized our resources to align with popular piano methods used by teachers all over the world. Just select the method you’re using with your students, pick the appropriate level and unit, and voilà! You’ll have a tailored list of games and worksheets that perfectly complement your lessons.
Of course, while the “Methods” section is a fantastic starting point, we still encourage you to create your very own library (keep reading…almost there!). Personalize it, make it yours – that way, you can truly cater the teaching experience to your unique style and individual students’ needs.
4. Curricula
The “Curricula” section is specifically created to accommodate various theory exam boards. Each game and worksheet is meticulously chosen to align with the syllabus of different organizations, making it super easy for students to review during the week and be ready on exam day.
And here’s the best part: even if your students aren’t planning to participate in exams, these resources are incredibly valuable for your studio. They’re thoughtfully sequenced to enhance learning and provide valuable insights that can benefit every student, testing or not.
5. My Library
You made it! While all those other options can save you time, this is the section that can really unlock the power of SproutBeat in your music studio. Organizing your own folders inside “My Library” allows you to craft a unique system tailored to your teaching style and specific needs. Here are some ideas:
Interview Packet: This section could house games specifically designed to assess potential students’ music aptitude and focus during introductory sessions. Games can reveal a lot about a student – do they think critically or guess? How do they handle mistakes? Can they self-correct? This insight is invaluable when understanding a student’s learning style and abilities.
Everyday-Use Resources: Include materials that you frequently use in your lessons. This might consist of staff paper for note writing, evaluation charts for assessing student performance, or “Let’s Discover” sheets to analyze music before playing. These resources become your teaching essentials, always at your fingertips.
End-of-Level Checkoffs: Create a section for mini quizzes or assessments to ensure your students are fully prepared to progress to the next level. These checkoffs can help you gauge your student’s understanding and mastery of the material before moving forward.
Remember, your teaching library is entirely yours to design. It becomes a powerful, personalized tool that not only saves you time and effort but also enhances your teaching effectiveness. By curating resources that align with your teaching methods, you’re creating a valuable resource that can be used with current and future students.
So, go ahead, design your teaching library, and make your teaching journey even more enriching and efficient!
