BandLab for Education was Updated!

 Over the summer, BandLab for Education was updated!

Have you ever checked out this program? Have you done digital composing with your students? Do they enjoy Chrome Music Lab? 

BLE is a big step up from CML, but is still very approachable for students. It's actually a highly sophisticated Digital Audio Workstation that even professionals can use though. It also works well with Google Classroom, and is lacking the social side of the original BandLab program.

When I first heard of BLE, I thought there's no way I could learn enough about it to make it meaningful for students. How often have we shared a program with them only to find the advanced features required a membership, or there was a limited timeframe to use the program before having to pay? Surely, the more advanced features would be out of my reach--knowledge or financially.

I'm here to say, if I can do this, you can do this, and your students certainly can! I got so into making a little ditty for my class that my whole family got on board and were giving advice and suggestions. They love the finished result, and my students thought it was amazing! Check it out here!

I am no music composition expert. I'm no tech wizard. I just watched some YouTube tutorials and tried. Isn't that what we tell students? Try! There's always the "undo" button! Students are learning coding in all grades and the BandLab Sounds really appeal with them. It's easy to build a composition by clicking and dragging loops over to the editor. 

The Packs contain a number of loops (it really varies) and they are designed to work well together. There's a filter function so it's easy for kids to find loops to suit their needs. 

In the spring, I created a teacher resource guide for BLE. It's everything I wish I could have had in one place to walk me through learning it well enough to teach to my students. Now, I've updated it to reflect the updated version of BLE! Screenshots had to be changed, I made a whole new video because some features had major changes. I also enlarged the resource--the video is now 18 minutes, there's more samples included, and there's even a slide show for the students, to help you with teaching it! When you purchase the resource, you'll also get a code to join my private TPT classroom in BLE. I won't be assigning any projects, but you will be able to share samples, ask questions, etc. 

This resource is also available in a bundle that has 11 different resources to cover just about any activity you might need in your class. 

Let me know if you, or your students, create any masterpieces!