Welcome back teachers and directors! The start of a new school year is filled with energy and excitement, but let’s be honest, it can also be filled with administrative hurdles. Between finalizing rosters, establishing classroom routines, and figuring out where your returning students’ skills actually are after a long summer break, August and September can feel like a marathon.
At MakeMusic, we believe your time is best spent on the podium, not buried in paperwork. That’s why we’ve rolled out a suite of powerful updates to MakeMusic Cloud designed specifically to eliminate friction, reduce your grading time, and help you start the semester strong.
Here is how our latest features will save you hours on early-year prep.
Streamline Your Admin & Grading Workflows
LMS Integration & Google Grade Passback
Say goodbye to the soul-crushing task of double data entry. With our enhanced LMS integration, connecting MakeMusic Cloud to platforms like Canvas and Schoology is more seamless than ever, streamlining your back-to-school onboarding.
But the real game-changer for many educators is our Google Grade Passback. Once a student completes an assignment in MakeMusic Cloud, their score automatically syncs directly to your Google Classroom gradebook. No more toggling between tabs or manually copying over scores on a Friday afternoon!
The New Gradebook
We’ve completely overhauled the MakeMusic Cloud gradebook to give you a cleaner, faster, and more intuitive grading experience. The new layout provides at-a-glance analytics, making it incredibly easy to track early-year progress, spot which students are thriving, and identify who might need a little extra help during those crucial first few weeks of rehearsal.
Co-Teaching
Managing a large ensemble often takes a village. With our new Co-Teaching feature, you can easily add assistant directors, student teachers, or sectional coaches to your MakeMusic Cloud classes. Co-teachers can assign exercises, review submissions, and enter grades alongside you. It is the ultimate tool to help you divide and conquer classroom management from day one.
Assess Playing and Literacy with Ease
Audio/Video and Multiple Choice Assignments
The first few weeks of school are critical for correcting bad habits that may have formed over the summer. Our Audio/Video and Multiple Choice assignments allow you to evaluate beyond just pitch and rhythm. Ask your students to record a quick video submission so you can check their posture, embouchure, bow hold, or stick grip, or assign multiple-choice note and symbol recognition quizzes to test retention.
These new assignment types are the perfect tool for assessing non-catalog repertoire, marching band stand tunes, or simple get-to-know-you playing tests.
Multiple choice assessment:
Audio/video only:
Theory Worksheets
Building strong musicians means building strong musical literacy. To help you integrate music theory seamlessly into your busy back-to-school curriculum, we’ve introduced ready-to-use Theory Worksheets built right into the platform.
Instant Content for Day One
Sight Reading Templates
Assessing your ensemble’s sight-reading ability is a classic back-to-school diagnostic, but manually writing or searching for appropriately leveled exercises takes hours of precious prep time. Simply select from our library of expertly crafted templates, pre-configured for use with NYSSMA or Texas UIL standards, or your favorite method books like Sing at First Sight, Habits of a Successful Musician, and Sound Innovations.
Pin Multiple Method Books and Playlists to a Class
Our long-time users will really appreciate this update: now you can pin multiple method books and/or playlists to a single class and keep all of your go-to materials top of mind for your students.
You can pin Bethany Main’s new Choir Up! alongside the current Sing at First Sight book your students are working out of. Books from The Foundations Series are also all “pinnable” now, so you can place them next to the other methods you are using.
Start the Year Off Right
The beginning of the school year sets the tone for the months ahead. By leveraging these new MakeMusic Cloud features, you can automate your administrative tasks, streamline your grading, and get back to doing what you do best: inspiring your students and making great music.
Log in to MakeMusic Cloud today to set up your classes and experience your smoothest back-to-school season yet!