Focus on Sound Pro
Price: Starting from £149 for a single-year, 60-student package
Focus on Sound Pro is an online teaching resource that comes from Music First. It offers teachers a comprehensive learning package that seeks to complement your classroom teaching through online lessons and tests. I was taken through a webinar, which you can request from Music First. However, the display is really intuitive so you might not need it, but it's good to know that it's an option if you feel a bit stuck. Everything is clearly labelled and tabulated and content is where you would expect it to be.
Lessons
In the lessons tabs, you'll find a robust collection of categories ranging from theory to chords, historical music to popular styles. Additionally, the major exam boards are all here (as is the Scottish curriculum) so you'll be able to meet any class's needs.
I was very impressed by the range of content on offer and the amount of detail that each lesson goes into. On more than one occasion, I found myself drawn into several lessons and found out a great deal about things I previously new little about such as instruments from east Asia. As well as facts and practical knowledge, these lessons also contain audio and video recordings. Many of these recordings (of which there are hundreds) were commissioned by Music First themselves and include instruments such as the balafon and the table alongside instruments from the Western music tradition. That Music First has gone to such lengths when they didn't really need to should give you a good idea as to how much effort has gone into the app as a whole.
All the displays are simple and intuitive
Tests
The test tab is broken up into many different sections that cover the same material found in the lesson section. The process is again very simple, just find the test you want and click on it. As a teacher, you can set it to a class presentation mode if you just want to run through it with a class on a whiteboard. Alternatively, you can create a class (which is done from the Music First website not the Focus on Sound app) and then you can assign a test to students in advance so that their lesson materials and test content are ready once students log in. They will be presented with their ‘due’ tests and will also have access to the lesson information.
The test results are then presented in an easy-to-read format which allows you to pinpoint if a particular student is struggling or if a whole class needs to revisit a topic. While many of the tests are multiple choice or require single-word answers, there are also some topics which require in-depth questions and students will be prompted to write longer answers, which you can then grade manually. This should hopefully allay any worries that the app is seeking to replace competency-based learning with knowledge-based learning – instead Music First clearly understands the current limitations of technology and works very well within those strictures. The app is clearly not designed to replace music teachers but complement their work and make their lives easier – it needs a musician to get the most out of it.
An example of a test page
Options
While the bundled content is remarkable, and being added to regularly, there are also plenty of customisation options available. These include the ability to create your own content pages, tests and lessons in as much depth as any of the existing lessons. The process of creating these is as straightforward as anything else on the platform but, as with everything else on the app, well-written FAQs are available to help you solve any problems.
I should also mention the dictionary section. It can be explored in its own right but is also linked to throughout the rest of the app through floating pop-ups once you mouseover highlighted words.
I found myself really enjoying this app and would definitely recommend that you give it a try to see if it's right for your school. You can request access to a trial version of the app which prevents you from creating a class but is otherwise fully functional.
