I can’t believe that the back-to-school season is here – I haven’t even been fishing yet. It feels like June was just yesterday.

If you’re like me, this time of year means big piles of paper, lots of emails to answer, phones ringing, and all sorts of chaos. To help, we’ve tried to make one aspect of this transition seamless for you.

We know that it’s not uncommon for district network staff to clean up your computers without you knowing about it. In the past, if this happened before you had a chance to remove your subscriptions, these subscriptions weren’t activated when you came back to school, and you’d have to call us to straighten things out. One more thing to do!

We’ve made several improvements to the SmartMusic activation server, including some to address this very issue. Today, if your computers are reimaged by your school, you can simply launch SmartMusic; we’ll see that it’s the same computer and automatically re-activate it for you!

Hopefully this does the trick for you. If not, drop us a quick line here using the same email address that you used to activate SmartMusic and we will get you up and running ASAP.

I hope the upcoming year is fruitful and filled with good music!

SmartMusic Product Specialist James Lund

Each fall our Customer Support department hears from some educators for whom SmartMusic stopped working over the summer. To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, I’ve asked fellow SmartMusic blogger James Lund to share some pre-summer tips.

BG: What steps can a teacher take at the close of the school year to make sure the next year begins smoothly with SmartMusic?

JL: We recommend moving your SmartMusic subscription off of your computers before leaving. School technology departments are often busy over the summer, reimaging computers so they’re ready to go in the fall. If you have an active subscription on a computer when this happens, you won’t immediately have access to SmartMusic in the fall. Customer Support can fix this for you, but planning now can save you a call to them in the fall.

The solution is to move the subscription off your computers before leaving for the summer, or asking your tech staff to do so. Click here to learn how it’s done.

We also have an exciting new version of SmartMusic coming soon (click here for a sneak peek), and I suggest getting the new version to your technology department promptly so they can get it installed on your computers before you return. Many school districts need time to install and test updates to software before they allow it to be installed, so make sure to pass it on when you get it.

What happens if something unexpected takes place that the teacher had no control over? For instance, what if the IT department decides to reformat all the computers in the school?  Is it curtains for SmartMusic?

If something like this happens to you, try re-activating first – we’ve tried to make our servers help you get up and running automatically. If that doesn’t work, contact Customer Support and you can be back in business quickly.

Are there any other suggestions that you have to help teachers get a great start to the school year using SmartMusic?

Once Smart Music 2011 is available, I suggest viewing the accompanying videos we’ll provide. The videos will clarify what all is new and I think you’ll be delighted.

I also suggest working with SmartMusic over the summer. It’s the perfect time to reconnect with your instrument or learn a new instrument. I can’t stress enough how useful it was for me as a teacher to force myself to go through SmartMusic as a beginner would; it gave me a great perspective on my students!

Also, there’s plenty of fun repertoire out there, with more on the way (Lord of the Rings, anyone?), and I can’t think of too many better ways to jumpstart the school year than with some cool music!

James, thanks for your time and valuable information! Say, aren't you the same guy who posts SmartMusic blogs under the name James H. Anderson?

I am. I’ve been “Lund-Anderson” for almost 20 years, and it recently became time to officially drop the second half. We hope to update the rest of the blog from "Anderson" to "Lund" soon. It’s a little sad, of course, because “Anderson” is such a rare name in Minnesota!

I hope you found this information useful. Do you need any clarification of the points mentioned? Let us know by clicking on the “Comments” button below.

Last week I shared some tips to help folks using SmartMusic at home breeze through installation and activation. In the school network world, it becomes a bit more complicated due to different schools' rules and state laws, so I'll share some specific info for school users today. If you're using SmartMusic at home, or are not the person who installs software at your school, don't be concerned by the following technical language: There will not be a test.

There are many different kinds of network setups, so we have prepared a fairly exhaustive list of technical specifications here. We revise that knowledge base article whenever SmartMusic or the websites are updated, so it's the most detailed list you can find to help your network staff. There is also a nice general summary in this documentwhich includes a rundown of the system requirements.

Here are some 'executive level' points:

1. SmartMusic has to be installed on the machine that will run it; it cannot be run from a remote or network location.
2. Install and activate as the Administrator account; limited users can use it afterwards. They will need to be able to write temporary files in the Documents and Settings directories, however.
3. Whitelists: SmartMusic relies on unfettered Internet access to a small number of websites. Add "smartmusic.exe" (or "smartmusic.app" for Macs) to your list of approved programs for network access. SmartMusic requires access only to these websites (normal ports):

   a. www.smartmusic.com
   b. components.smartmusic.com
   c. ws.makemusic.com
   d. redirect.makemusic.com

4. System requirements: Compare the specs of the computers you plan to use against the SmartMusic system requirements.While lower-end budget computers work great for word processing and math tutorial software, they tend to fare poorly when presented with a professional-level audio program. Pay special attention to sufficient RAM, and know that investing in a sound card will pay off quite a bit.

Now I know I said there wouldn't be a test, but I do have a short quiz: Desktops, notebooks, netbooks, laptops, and cheese sandwiches - which of these isn't a real computer?

I'm tempted to say netbooks, as they often have very underpowered CPUs, but the real answer is the cheese sandwich. Netbooks are a close second, however: If your district is contemplating buying a bunch of these, definitely download SmartMusic onto one first and try recording with the "sample" files.

With that, the time has come for one cheese sandwich to meet its maker.

Best wishes!

In the spirit of back-to-school time, this week I offer a brief quiz. Now don't panic - this won't effect your final grade! I hope you have fun taking it. I guarantee that after you are done you will know more about the resources that are available to help you with your SmartMusic and Gradebook questions.

True or False

1. There are brief how-to videos at smartmusic.com that can help with various topics such as using SmartMusic, Gradebook set-up, Enrolling Students into your Gradebook, and creating assignments for students.

Answer: TRUE - QuickStart Videos are available here. These videos are a super resource for your students and parents as well!

2. The only way to get the latest version of SmartMusic is to call Customer Support or order it online.

Answer: FALSE - There is a link on the SmartMusic homepage to download the latest version.

3. The only way to get help from SmartMusic Customer Support is to call them at 866-240-4041.

Answer: FALSE - You can open a case online by selecting Support>Contact Us and then clicking on Submit your question online. This leads you to the Knowledge Base page (which is another valuable resource). If you don't find an answer here, click on Submit a Support Case on the left.

4. There are short, informational videos about SmartMusic that I can share with other teachers, parents, students and administrators.

Answer: TRUE - There are four short informative videos available here. Some possible uses of showing the videos: SmartMusic demonstration night, at a concert, music department meeting, in the classroom (make it an interactive activity), or to demonstrate SmartMusic to administrators and IT personnel.

5. At smartmusic.com there is a section where educators have access to all kinds of helpful, practical information in one place.

Answer: TRUE - At the Resource Center, you have access to practical materials that can help you integrate SmartMusic into your program. This includes a variety of letters created for your use, as well as links to other resources including past issues of SmartNotes, the SmartMusic e-newsletter that contains tips and stories by teachers like you.

6. There is no way to find out how other teachers are using SmartMusic in my state or surrounding area.

Answer: FALSE - The Advocate Map offers instant access to this information. Select a state from the drop-down menu to see a map of current Advocates and an additional menu including the Advocates' names, schools and communities. Select an Advocate to read about how they're using SmartMusic. One of the best ways to get information about using SmartMusic in your program is to contact one of these Advocates.

7. Teachers have no input regarding what repertoire goes into SmartMusic.

Answer: FALSE - Educator input is one of the primary factors in determining what repertoire will be added in future versions of SmartMusic. On the SmartMusic homepage, select Find Music>Request New Title. Fill out the form and submit it. This information is collected and used in conjunction with other data for consideration for future SmartMusic titles. As a teacher, I filled out that form once to request a concert band title. That piece was put in SmartMusic a few months later. True story!

8. An upgrade to the latest version SmartMusic is unnecessary to use the newest titles in SmartMusic.

Answer: FALSE - SmartMusic 2010 is necessary for all new SmartMusic titles. SmartMusic Updates are free to current subscribers. (See question 2.)

9. Besides this SmartMusic Blog, SmartMusic is on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Answer: True - The new Community section of smartmusic.com provides links to SmartMusic Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages.

10. There is no desktop reference guide for SmartMusic and Gradebook available.

Answer: FALSE - Au contraire, mes amis! The SmartMusic Training Guide is available for purchase at the SmartMusic website. It is easy to follow, with step-by-step directions for SmartMusic and Gradebook, a plethora of screenshots, a best practices section of how teachers are incorporating SmartMusic in their curriculum, and more. What do I think of it? I wish it was around years ago so that I could have used it! Read a review by Chad Criswell at MusicEdMagic.

Whew! How did you do? I hope you found this information helpful - please let me know what you think.

Until next time, Happy Teaching!

Bob