EarSketch

Make Beats. Learn Code. 

This week's class discussion inspired me to think about my own MakerSpace and brainstorm ideas for new creativity and learning outlets for my students. Beat-making is a popular activity amongst my students, so I started looking into EarSketch. Named one of American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) Best Digital Tools for Teaching & Learning for 2024, EarSketch introduces coding and music technology to students, grades 6-12, in a highly engaging and creative manner (AASL, 2024).  

I signed up for an EarSketch account to explore and fumbled my way around, but it's an interesting platform. I also noticed that there's a partnership with the Amazon Future Engineer program and a really cool Back to School Beats Competition. 

A few additional thoughts...

Cost
EarSketch is free to use and from what I can tell, there are no paid pr premium subscriptions for this platform. Teachers and students are not missing out on any special features, it's just one subscription. 

Ease of Use
I have to be honest here. EarSketch can take some getting use to. As someone who is new to coding (and beat-making), it is not as intuitive as I would like BUT as a first-time user there are tutorials that guide you until you become more familiar with the platform. Educator bonus: EarSketch has a curriculum guide for teachers AND an EarSketch Teacher Site for additional resources. 

Overall, I recommend EarSketch for educators AND students! Let me know what you think! 

You can find EarSketch at earsketch.gatech.edu/landing/#/.