Music Ed Tech Talk

Robby chats with Evan Tobias (Associate Professor of Music Education at Arizona State University) about imagining new possibilities for music teaching in a rapidly shifting digital landscape–from rethinking what curriculum even means, to the everyday tools that power his research, writing, and thinking. Subscribe to the Blog… RSS | Email Newsletter Subscribe to the Podcast in… Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Castro | Spotify | RSS Support Music Ed Tech Talk Become a Patron! Buy me a coffee Chapters and Notes 00:00:00 Greetings first 00:08:41 Introductions second Evan Tobias, Arizona State University YouTube TikTok Instagram Podcast AT Protocol Cory Doctorow's Book 00:26:04 What possibilities that exist when music teachers use technology in different ways Obsidian Weight of Light: A Collection of Solar Futures 00:54:38 What is curriculum? Podcast Episode 4: Music Curriculum Perspectives with Brian Laakso Hal Leonard Modern Band Series littleBits 01:11:25 Research and writing tools: writing, interviews, reading…lots! Connecting ideas across many mediums… Scite.AI - used to scan across databases, answer questions Hazel - file management DEVONthink - store, organize, work zotero - collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research PDF Expert - PDF editing TextSniper - extract text from images 01:26:07 Surveys Qualtrics - creating surveys Calendly - scheduler that integrates with calendars TextExpander - type a keystroke that fills in email body or other text Keyboard Maestro - automate applications or websites Fantastical - give your calendar superpowers Craft - you know it, you love it 01:42:35 Interviews Descript - record, edit, transcribe Snipd - AI-powered podcast app Airtable - database to help keep track of where people are in the project Notion - database in place of Google Doc OmniFocus - Task management ClickUp - Task and project management Readwise Reader - PDF reader Raindrop.io Speechify - listen to text/PDF files Please don't forget to rate the show and share it with others!

Subscribe to the Blog… RSS | Email Newsletter Subscribe to the Podcast in… Apple Podcasts | Overcast | Castro | Spotify | RSS Support Music Ed Tech Talk Become a Patron! Buy me a coffee Chapters 00:00:00 - Intro & Thank You Patron Supporters 00:02:42 - Apple Creator Studio Suite & Affinity (owned by Canva) 00:10:39 - What's New in AI 00:14:55 - The Many Notes of Robby Burns: Apple Notes | Evernote | Bear | DEVONthink | Drafts 00:22:30 - Personal Knowledge Management: METT #58 - Building a Second (Music Teacher) Brain | Obsidian | Craft | Notion 00:30:41 - What Am I Actually Using These Days: Obsidian Plugins | Things | GoodNotes | Todoist | Hookmark 00:42:08 - Summary & Overall Philosophy Where to Find Us Robby - robbyburns.com Please don't forget to rate the show and share it with others!

00:00:00 Music and Introduction 00:01:41 Thank you, Patreon Subscribers! Support me on Patreon 00:02:15 Apple Announcement Apple Creative Studio launched January 28th, 2026 Educator Bundle has been Discontinued Notion 00:09:06 What's New in AI 00:10:16 Apps in My Workflow: On My Mac Group your tabs! Fantastical Omnigraffle iWork Logic Pro iReal Pro forScore Farrago Stream Deck Mastodon Discord Readwise Mars Edit ChatGPT Mac App Claude Mac App Gemini Apple Home Foodnoms CoPilot Money iPhone mirroring 00:29:42 Apps in My Workflow: On My iPhone Sonos Overcast Audible Libby Kindle Apple Health Peloton Drafts Tonal Energy 00:31:45 Apps in my Workflow: On My iPad HomeCam AppleTV Narwhal StaffPad Dorico GoodNotes

00:00:00 Welcome, Intros, and a TI:ME Feature 00:10:25 Listener Question - what sources do you follow to stay afloat on tech tools and ongoings in and outside the field of music education? RobbyBurns.com cdm Pirate Wires Futurism The Verge Techmeme Six Colors Daring Fireball Mac Stories Off the Beaten Path 00:16:55 Chart-Topping AI Country Song Using Suno* to make demos 00:27:03 Automation Station Craft - a PKM that's hot Drafts - working with Craft Loop - Nice lookin' Google Doc 00:33:20 Segue: Tahoe Issues, iOS 26 Issues, System Issues 00:35:47 Favorites of 2025 Apps: Sequel, Finch, Final Cut Pro Music: Bon Iver, David Matthews, Fred Again…, Tame Impala + Justice Computing Device: Apple Watch Ultra, Mac mini m4, JAYE'S BRAIN Other Tools and Materials: Miyoo Mini Plus, Nintendo Switch, PAID StudioOne, Ableton Move Books: Ideology of Competition in School Music, Nuclear War: A Scenario, Adam Curtis documentaries, fiction, broadly, War & Peace (via Footnotes & Tangents), Meditations Other Media: Robby: Hard games such as Hollow Knight Movies - Arrival Show - Pluribus Will: Shows - Pluribus Game - Balatro Movie - Mulholland Drive Jaye Movies - Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning Sports - Cricket Museums - The MLB Hall of Fame Misc! @Robby Presentations and Awards - TMEA Life - Babys, Costco Executive @Jaye Finances - upgraded American Airlines credit card Travel - Munich, Vienna, Prague by train; Seeing the Cardinals in St Louis Will Project: Funkhaus.music 01:14:15 Predictions! No show note spoilers… 01:20:48 Tired/Wired Lightening Round Unpressable Buttons Marco Polo

In this episode of Music Ed Tech Talk, Robby sits down with Theresa Hoover to discuss AI guidance in music education, creativity in the classroom, task management for educators, and what's new in their professional lives. Topics include NAfME guidance on AI, next-gen Siri, automation workflows, and listener questions about sustaining creativity in a distracted world. Support Music Ed Tech Talk Become a Patron Buy Me a Coffee Show Notes & Links Intro & Community 00:00:00 – Hello and welcome 00:00:30 – Thanks to new Patreon supporter, Drew Ross News, Blogs, and AI Updates 00:01:23 – Theresa's newest blog on COPPA and FERPA** - https://offthebeatenpathinmusic.com/play-it-safe/ Affinity creative apps 00:10:30 – What's New in AI Next-gen Siri (expected 2026) Tim Cook provides update on next-gen Siri development Sky AI and the impact of OpenAI acquiring Sky AI Guidance in Music Education 00:16:15 – Released guidance in the music education world Yamaha: AI in the Music Classroom NAfME: Guiding Principles, Frameworks, and Applications for AI in Music Education Classroom policy framing Alignment language for administrators Practical classroom use cases Moises AI Studio — AI-generated, tempo- and harmony-aware accompaniment stems for student compositions and arranging Higher Ed & Classroom Practice 00:24:15 – What is emerging from Theresa's undergraduate classes? Automation Station 00:26:34 – Automation Station & task management Concert planning task templates Things 3: Organize Your Life Ask METT 00:32:21 – Listener question from Kate Bateman How do you manage teaching creativity and having opinions about music in a world where kids won't concentrate on anything for longer than a minute? Reference: Drive by Daniel Pink 00:41:51 – What is music for for kids? What's Up With Theresa 00:45:18 – New job update Wrapping up the doctorate 00:52:08 – Is it finally time for forScore and an Apple Pencil? What's Up With Robby 01:00:14 – New OS and first impressions of Apple Vision Pro The "wow factor" is actually wow Music Picks 01:13:38 Robby: The New Tango – Gary Burton & Astor Piazzolla Theresa: Afterglow – Saint Motel (Oct. 2025) Wrap-Up 01:17:39 – Where to find Theresa TheresaHoover.com Pass the Baton - https://passthebatonbook.com/pass-the-baton-podcast/ Book: Empowering Ensembles with Technology 01:20:20 – Farewell… plus Q&A on Theresa's dissertation on music teachers and educational podcasts Chapters 00:00:00 – Welcome & Intro 00:00:30 – Patreon Shout-Out 00:01:23 – COPPA, FERPA, and Blogs 00:10:30 – What's New in AI 00:16:15 – AI Guidance in Music Education 00:24:15 – Undergraduate Teaching Insights 00:26:34 – Automation Station 00:32:21 – Ask METT 00:41:51 – What Is Music For? 00:45:18 – What's Up With Theresa 00:52:08 – forScore & Apple Pencil 01:00:14 – What's Up With Robby 01:13:38 – Music Picks 01:20:20 – Final Q&A & Farewell Where to Find Us Robby: robbyburns.com Theresa: theresahoover.com