GarageBand in the Classroom

GarageBand is another one of those tools that students have at their fingertips.  Are you using it?  If not, here are some great ways to use this free program in your classroom.

  • Booktalks: Students can review a story or novel read for class or one of their own choosing.
  • Interviews: Students can interview either real people or characters from books and/or history.
  • Podcasts: Students could write a script for a podcast of their choosing on current events, events in history, or a fictional story.
  • Music: Students can create a soundtrack for an iMovie or any other project that incorporates sound.
  • Read-alouds: Have students read their writings aloud while recording in GarageBand and listen to critique their phrasing and language for revision.  Or, have students read each other's writings verbatim and students can listen to the recording to see what doesn't make sense.
Students need to download it from Self Service first, a task I always recommend doing way in advance of your project so you can eliminate any tech issues.

YouTube has dozens and dozens of tutorials...you don't have to know how to use it yourself to get started!  

I had my 1st hour students create and record podcasts using GarageBand and Snowball mics.  You are more than welcome to borrow the mics for your classroom use (I have two).  Students can record using their built-in mics, but you will get much better sound quality and eliminate background noise using an external microphone like the Snowball.

Here are a few samples from my 1st hour podcasts:


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