Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Examples from the Smart Jams Math Music Video Project


Here are five samples from our first time through the Smart Jams music video project. I highlighted our work in detail on my Music in the Classroom page. I also included video tutorials for the entire process so teachers or students could do similar work.

Due to privacy concerns, we did not get permission to post the full videos online. The versions here will give you a great idea of the quality of the songs. The videos have been modified (mostly with panning and zooming) so that students cannot be identified.

These are a few of the songs I'm most proud of for reasons noted below.

Best singing performance - Multiplying Fractions - Most students opted for a rap when they performed. It is a lot more work for all involved when they choose to sing as these girls did, but the performance turned out very well.

Best rap performance - Rounding Like a Hero (Rounding to the Tens Place) - This is a great example of how a short, simple rap can focus on the content and give students a chance to let their talents shine through.

Best songwriting - Truckin' Like a Tractor (Reducing Fractions) - I liked the similes and rhymes in this short song a lot. The quiet girl who did the rap really came to life when I started recording!



Example created using just the iPad - This is remix of the first song. After I got the chords from UJam, I created the music using Smart Instruments in GarageBand for iPad. I also played a guitar track using the iRig adapter. Next, I created the video using only still pictures and iMovie. It's a good example of what can be accomplished relatively quickly with all content creation on this amazing device.


Example of WeVideo - Long Division - These students were a joy to work with and they put a lot into their song. It's one of our best, but I also share it here because I finalized this version in WeVideo. All other videos were done with iMovie, but I wanted to see if WeVideo could be used as a simple, free alternative on a PC. My conclusion is yes, but I had to publish this twice before the published version matched the sync of the edited version I worked on. I can't say how common that is, but it was somewhat frustrating.

I'll be glad to hear any comments you have on this project and the final products!

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