Community reviews for Soundtrap

I love this tool as a resource for alternate assessment or student choice in assessment. Students were easily able to navigate the tool and use it for the intended purpose. They were always engaged when using this tool for a classroom project. Some have chosen to use it beyond my classroom for other work they are doing in other classes. The only problem I had was at the beginning. If your school purchases soundtrap, you must assign your students to a seat. Once I figured that out, it was smooth sailing. The assigned seat option is great. If a semester ends, you can un-assign a student and use that license for a different student the next semester. It should give your school the flexibility when you choose how many seats to license.

I have pushed to have our District bring this program on board since I found out about it two years ago. It has so many uses, Music and non-Music, and the support of the ST team has been tremendous! Though it does have it's limitations, as it is not as professional a DAW (digital audio workstation) as ProTools or Logic, it is an incredible tool for the non-professional. Especially in an educational setting where funds/resources are limited, Soundtrap opens so many doors that other tools can't, either because of their capacity, their accessibility, or their cost. I should note my District has purchased licenses, making it accessible to many staff and students. Also facilitates student learning beyond one year/one class.

It is really a great idea. I believe it work best in a home setting and not a classroom. The projects often wouldn't load or sync for collaboration. The problem seemed to be too many computers trying to share bandwidth. It's not free, but it is inexpensive for a piece of classroom software. But then again you get what you pay for.

Overall, I think Soundtrap is an excellent tool. It can be used on my Chromebooks unlike Garage Band. I like that it allows students to demonstrate an understanding of mood and tone with their use of sound. I do wish that there were more sounds available in the free option.

I've used a number digital audio workstations (DAWs). Soundtrap isn't top of the pile for serious music creators, but it is simple to use in a classroom environment and is web-based so it's not tied to any device. What sets it apart is the video communication tools available to collaborate on projects.

Like most tools these days, I always allow children time to just play with a new tool and see what they can do with it. I recommend that with Soundtrap to begin with. Later you can get your class to tell you what they have discovered, and then fill in any gaps they may have missed - for example the 'snap to grid' tool and useful keyboard shortcuts may need to be explicitly taught, for example. The great thing about Soundtrap being online is that the lessons don't need to be confined to the school day - children are often busy working on their projects at home, and collaborating with each other as they do so. Once you begin on Soundtrap the sky is the limit -your podcast & music production possibilities are literally endless. Get out there and start experimenting with Soundtrap now!