These courses are for everyone, even for those who feel they have a very little knowledge of the basics. You would be amazed at some of the knowledge you have which you might not realize.

In the music technology courses we take you step-by-step through all the equipment you would expect to find in an audio recording studio, explain how it works and you then have a chance to use it yourself. We start off with analog or traditional equipment and then move onto computer based digital audio. Once you have completed this course you can then move onto the more advanced sound engineering & music production courses.

I teach at Willows High School in Cardiff and it is fair to say that we have some challenging pupils. I am a firm believer that if children are enjoying what they are doing they won’t want to mess about. Technology plays a huge part in that theory. At home children are playing on their Xbox 360′s or PlayStation 3′s and when they fail a level the first thing they do is have another go and they don’t give up. By bringing some of this technology into the classroom, hopefully their effort and want to succeed will follow.

Cubase Tutorial Music Production course

Cubase is known as a software music sequencer that runs on either a PC or Apple Mac. It can record many tracks where each track can represent one instrument or sound. It is the digital equivalent of the multi-track reel-to-reel tape machine.

On this course you will attain an in depth knowledge on all aspects of this powerful and versatile application.

Logic, Pro-Tools and Reason Music Production Courses

Similar to Cubase in the fact that all of these packages are software music sequencers, but they are each created by different software houses. We teach all of these sequencer packages, each as individual courses as they are all used in both professional and semi-professional music production. The versatile engineer needs to be competent in their operation in order to be able to take on work for any client. However if your intention is to set up and use your own studio to record and produce music then it may not be necessary to attend all these courses.

Using the Kinect in your classroom

Recently I have been playing about with the XBOX Kinect plugged into my laptop. It really has opened my eyes to the potential of the kinect in the classroom. How often do our students say “oh sir not another PowerPoint”. By using the kinect it gives presenting information a new dimension for our students. For those teachers out there that are saying under their breath “why not just use a mouse”. You really have no idea. Not everyone teaches in a private school where the students are switched on all the time. Students in my classes now want to create presentations because they know once they have completed their work they can present it in a way that reflects a science fiction film (Minority Report for those who don’t watch films).

A few months ago Microsoft released the SDK pack for the Kinect. This enables you to create fun, rich learning resources for your classroomA few months ago a real buzz started on twitter about the use of Microsoft Kinect in the classroom. A few of us started to look at how this wonderful piece of technology could be used to enthuse our learners. Twitter, being the fantastic network that it is helped a few of us discuss the potential of the Kinect in the classroom. It will come as no surprise that the teachers that have been working with the Kinect and looking at the potential it has are all Microsoft Innovative Teachers and it is through the power of Twitter that these teachers have come together to help and support each other to create some fantastic resources for the classroom. Ray Chambers has looked into the depths of what the SDK pack for the Kinect can do. I have spoken with Ray on the phone and via twitter and he has written an excellent guide to set up the Kinect on his blog. http://raychambers.wordpress.com

A few months ago Microsoft released the SDK pack for the Kinect. This enables you to create fun, rich learning resources for your classroom.

The Godfather of these Microsoft Innovative Teachers Stuart Ball has written an excellent entry on the Microsoft education blog about how, as teachers we have worked together via twitter to develop these resources. It is true to say that the teachers involved have a passion for the use of technology in the classroom and the idea of using cutting-edge technology to aid their teaching. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/teachers/

I teach at Willows High School in Cardiff and it is fair to say that we have some challenging pupils. I am a firm believer that if children are enjoying what they are doing they won’t want to mess about. Technology plays a huge part in that theory. At home children are playing on their Xbox 360′s or PlayStation 3′s and when they fail a level the first thing they do is have another go and they don’t give up. By bringing some of this technology into the classroom, hopefully their effort and want to succeed will follow.

Our Kinect course takes you through the basics of using the Kinect and you will have the chance to work with myself and Ray to help you create the rich learning interactive resources.