Battle Ground students adjust to online learning

BATTLE GROUND — Student musicians at Battle Ground Public Schools have had to adjust to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. “There is no playbook for shifting band classes to an online format,” Jeremy Gallagher, band teacher at Laurin Middle School, said in a news release. Students use an online program called SmartMusic allows teachers to assign a piece of music that students can play along to at home. The students record their performance, and SmartMusic identifies when a wrong note is played, displaying incorrect notes in red on their sheet music. They record themselves and upload videos to Google Drive so teachers can review and provide feedback. “Hearing students play on a video is very similar to hearing them play in person,” said James deBra, band teacher at Pleasant Valley Middle School. “We are able to give them focused and direct feedback, which will help them to improve their playing.”