Spotify

Whatever your teaching context, music is a surefire way of infusing your classroom with energy. In my experience using music in the classroom, I have yet to have a student disprove this statement: While everyone may not enjoy the same music, everyone enjoys some music.

The research that exists regarding the benefits and applications of using music in the classroom is far beyond the scope of this article, but one may consult Goering (2004) and Lake (2003) for a helpful starting point. For the purposes of this article, I will simply explain how I have found music to be an invaluable resource in my classroom.

If you were to observe one of my classes, you would find that the only times music is not playing is when we are having a group discussion, student presentation, or teacher lecture. When students walk into the classroom, they hear music. When they work quietly at their desks either in groups or as individuals, they hear music. As they exit the classroom, they hear music. The type and volume of music varies throughout any given class period, but the music is nevertheless present at almost all times.

I have two primary playlists that I use in my classroom, one for stimulating students’ energy levels and the other for helping them focus on the task at hand. The former playlist contains a mix of classic and contemporary pop hits that most students will recognize, along with a few alternative favorites of my own with upbeat tempos that will engage students. The latter playlist includes instrumentals from a variety of artists that range from classical music to covers of contemporary pop songs. This playlist essentially serves as background music that can help students stay focused on their task. I keep both of these playlists updated on a regular basis as I discover new songs to keep the music fresh for my students.

Though there are other music streaming services available (e.g., Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube), I advocate for using Spotify because of its user-friendliness and the access it provides to a plethora of quality, premade playlists to choose from developed by Spotify employees. Creating an account is quick, simple, and free (with certain limitations). You can choose to create a username and password, or log in with your Facebook account. Unrestricted access to Spotify costs only US$9.99 a month, has no contracts, and is well worth the investment. Or you can enjoy 3 months of unrestricted access for only US$0.99 if you’re interested in trying out the unrestricted service for a cheaper (temporary) price.

Once you’ve created an account, using it in your classroom is easy. Simply type “play.spotify.com” in your Web browser and you will open the online desktop player, which will then prompt you to log in to your Spotify account. Once you log in, you’re ready to go! I would recommend creating a couple of playlists that you would like to use with your students before trying out Spotify in the classroom, as it is a good idea to vet the premade playlists on Spotify to ensure they are appropriate for your teaching context. Feel free to use my aforementioned playlists for inspiration, or you can search for playlists and songs you think your students would like and add them to your playlists as you go.

While it is certainly most convenient to use Spotify in the classroom via a desktop computer and speakers, if you have an Android or iPhone, you can download the Spotify app for free and use it in your classroom that way as well.

Kahoot!

Kahoot! is an interactive online quiz resource designed to make dull, lifeless quizzes in your classroom a thing of the past. I use it primarily for reading quizzes near the beginning of each class period as a way of getting students engaged and focused on the topics at hand.

If your students are anything like the majority of mine, getting them to complete their reading homework on a regular basis is virtually impossible. Kahoot! addresses this issue remarkably because it is designed to have students compete for the bragging rights of being the best quiz taker each day. Thus, the more familiar they are with the reading (or whatever it is they are being quizzed over), the more likely they are to earn the title of “Champion.” It may sound silly, but it works.

Why does it work? Because there are few things that engage students more effectively than games and competitions, and Kahoot! marries the two beautifully. Basically, you (the teacher) create a quiz on Kahoot! just like you would if students were using pencils and paper. When you are ready to start the quiz, launch it via the Kahoot! website and have students take out their smart devices—basically anything with access to the Internet—so they can log in to the quiz using the unique game PIN. Once they have logged in, all they need to do is type their nickname and they are ready to go! Once everyone has logged in successfully, you are ready to start the quiz.

If you design your Kahoot! well, it can greatly help students with the retention of important lessons and ideas as you engage in class discussions after each question. Students receive immediate feedback and are intently focused on the discussions because of the gamified quiz format.

As with Spotify, creating an account is quick, simple, and free. Type “getkahoot.com” into your Web browser to sign up and you will be ready to start using Kahoot! in no time. Students have the option of downloading the app to their Android device or they can log in with any Internet-equipped device by typing “kahoot.it” into their Web browser. Kahoot! also offers helpful tutorials on their website, which I encourage you to visit for more information.

For further information about gamification in the classroom, consult McGonigal (2011) and Chou (2016).

Random Student for Teachers

If you’ve ever been guilty of calling on the same student repeatedly, regularly organize your students into groups, and/or have a difficult time remembering your students’ names, you should definitely consider using the Random Student for Teachers app in your classroom.

This app, which is available for both the Android and iPhone for US$2.99, enables you to randomly select students, organize students into groups of various sizes, and practice name-face associations for your students at the touch of a button. Simply input your students’ names (and pictures, if desired) into the app and you are ready to enjoy all the benefits the app has to offer. The app allows you to input student names for up to nine different classes, which is invaluable for the teacher with a heavy teaching load. I typically launch this app near the beginning of each class so I will be ready to call on students at random rather than select the students less hesitant to share their thoughts.

This app promotes equity in the classroom by virtually eliminating teacher favoritism and making it so that all students have equal opportunities to be called on to share their thoughts during any given class session. I use it in my classes every day to show students that I believe they all have perspectives worth sharing.

Conclusion

Technology is becoming increasingly more advanced with every passing day, and our students tend to be the experts on the latest the world has to offer. As teachers, we should always be searching for ways to effectively implement technology in our classrooms because it is one of the quickest ways of meaningfully engaging our students.

References

Chou, Y. (2016). Actionable gamification: Beyond points, badges, and leaderboards. Fremont, CA: Octalysis Media.

Goering, C. (2004). Music and the personal narrative: The dual track to meaningful writing. The Quarterly, 26(4). Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2142

Lake, R. (2003). Enhancing acquisition through music. The Journal of the Imagination in Language Learning and Teaching, 2002-2003, 7, 102–110.

McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is broken. New York, NY: Penguin Press.

Seth French has a BS in secondary English education and an MA in teaching English as a second language from Oklahoma State University. He has taught native and nonnative speakers of English at the secondary and university levels. He spends most of his time with his wife and brand new baby girl, plays tennis and poker, and is currently pursuing a PhD in English curriculum and instruction at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.