2023 will mark a decade since I took a leap of faith and began sharing my work online with teachers around the globe. Many of you have been with me from the very beginning.
And now, I am embarking on another new teaching adventure that I am super excited about, but more about that later in this message.
First of all, thank you so much for following my work, trusting and believing in and using the S-Cubed Sight Singing Program for Beginners. If it had not been for teachers just like you who took the leap and used S-Cubed with their students and talked about it online and in person, no one would know about it.
No company helped get the word out.
It was all you and me.
You’ve shared videos of the work you’re doing with your students using S-Cubed online. You’ve tagged teachers when I host a giveaway so they can enter and perhaps win or get the program at a discount. You’ve talked about S-Cubed in your professional development sessions. You’ve written comments about S-Cubed for people looking for sight singing programs in various social media threads where choir directors gather. You’ve left nearly 900 reviews on TpT that reflect your experiences with the program. You’ve sent me personal email messages about how the program has helped you, and I’ve saved and shared almost all of them on my blog under “Testimonials about S-Cubed”.
Thank you.
What’s this exciting next endeavor?!
As many of you know, I retired from public school teaching after 30 years in the classroom, and I am presenting classes to teachers, adjudicating events, and directing Allstate and Honors Chorus events….but I have found another endeavor that I am so excited to share with new learners all over the globe…
…and I hope you can help me get the word out about it the same way you helped get the word out about S-Cubed to start with!
I have decided to teach S-Cubed Sight Singing Program on a platform called “Outschool”. The company has been around since 2017. They provide a platform for teachers to teach students anything from music to math to language arts to social studies to gaming to cooking…and on and on. Almost everything you can imagine is there for students 18 and under who want to learn something new or to supplement what they are working on in their school setting. Learners on the platform come from all over the world. I’ll be able to teach as often as I want, when I want and from anywhere as long as I have a good internet connection, and after 30 years in the brick and mortar classroom, that sort of freedom sounds like a lovely next chapter for me and a natural extension of the work I’ve been doing with S-Cubed for all of these years. I haven’t been this excited to start a new endeavor since I found TeachersPayTeachers. Outschool fits my life right now, and I really want to make it work and continue to teach students about sight singing and more!
…But I need your help! I need people to help me spread the word that I am offering classes. I need you to use social media and let parents who have children between the ages of 8 and 14 know that I’m teaching on the platform so that I can fill my classes with new learners. I will include the links below with instructions along with some coupons that they can use. If you have never signed up for Outschool, you’ll get a $20 coupon that you can use for the first class I teach or for another class that your child finds interesting on the platform.
Which students would be a good fit for my S-Cubed offerings on Outschool?
Do you know a learner who is taking chorus from a teacher who doesn’t focus on teaching sight singing?
Do you know a learner who is home-schooled and would like supplemental music literacy training?
Do you know a learner who is an instrumentalist, but who wants to also learn solfege sight singing to become an even stronger reader?
Do you know a learner whose ear needs training?
Do you have a child, grandchild, niece or nephew you’d like to learn sight singing from the creator of the program because teaching your own family can be a challenge?
Do you know a learner who is ravenously hungry to learn everything possible about learning to read music but perhaps they don’t own a piano or other instrument in their home?
These are the types of students who are perfect for my classes with Outschool, so let their parents know about this opportunity. My primary age group will be from 8-14 years old, but I will make exceptions to that rule for eager learners. Just ask!
I am offering my first class “The Game” (Lesson 1 of S-Cubed) as a single class offering. No commitment past the first class is required! I’ve already set up multiple time slots of that class in my classroom, and those slots are ready to be filled with learners starting October 24, 2022.
After students take the first class called “The Game”, they will have the chance to take their first multi-day class as I continue the journey taking them step by step through the S-Cubed Sight Singing Program the same way I did “live” in the classroom for 30 years. Each multi-day class offering will progress from Level 1 to Level 2 to Level 3 and so on. Each multi-day class will be a 4-6 class commitment as we work through the program. Students can stop at any time in the process. Students who commit to all levels of the program will come out with the same skills my students did when I taught it “live”. It will take months, but the payoff is worth it. Students who complete the program will be able to sing a capella, two-part sight singing with skips as wide as an octave and syncopated rhythms without any help from anyone…All they will need is the starting pitch!
I will offer the classes at a variety of time slots so that learners have a chance of finding a class that fits their schedule. You can even request times for me to teach the classes, and I will see if I can accommodate those requests if the classes I’ve listed on my page don’t work for your schedule.
With my Outschool journey, I plan to follow the same path I followed with TpT. I want to build my following and get as many reviews of my work as possible on the platform from learners/parents of learners. I am hoping they will enjoy the learning so much that word of mouth will help more learners and parents find my work on the platform. We all know that clicks/saves/likes helps more people find things when they search. For example, if you type “middle school sight singing” into google, S-Cubed pops right to the top on the google thanks to you and to the years of reviews and posts about the program.
If you are planning to share this information with others who aren’t familiar with my work, please make clear to them the importance of leaving reviews so that I can build trust of the Outschool users the same way I did with TpT….and just tell them to type “middle school sight singing” into google to get more information about the program and to see the reviews.
Links to classes and coupons below!
Links to classes and coupons for free/discounted classes
Here are the links you’ll need in order to follow my work, get notified about new classes and take advantage of the discounts I am offering to help you and other interested parties to take the leap and register for Outschool and my first “one-time” S-Cubed class, “The Game” and possibly to embark on the series of multi-day classes that will lead the learner toward becoming incredibly competent, a capella sight singers with amazing well-trained ears!
How do I get started?
Step One-
Please “follow” my classroom and share it on social media. Tag your friends who have children who might be interested in learning sight singing from me!
Click the link below and follow my classroom-
https://outschool.com/teachers/Mr-D-202209?usid=MFmxTKwy&signup=true&authTrigger=follow_teacher&utm_campaign=share_leader_link
Find the share button. USE IT to share on any and all social media with your friends and fellow music teachers! Or simply share this email. Here is a shareable link to this email- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e0zp7RB_0POM6MBjKXPkjYF5AIGMJIfM5C_TCTFagBo/edit?usp=sharing
Step two
Please “save” my class(es). That will ensure that you are notified when I post new class sections that might fit your schedule.
I’ve only listed two right now because I am just getting started.
Here is a link to my first class offering called “The Game”. https://outschool.com/classes/3481e1f5-f019-48ef-8d56-acdf26e65978/schedule#usMFmxTKwy
Press “save” next to the class to keep up with future time offerings. Taking this class is the first step on the S-Cubed journey, and everyone who is thinking about embarking on the larger S-Cubed journey must take it. S-Cubed is cumulative. Steps cannot be skipped regardless of background. You’ll find lots of various time options over the next few weeks. Remember…if you or someone you know takes the class, please leave a review so that I can begin building trust with the experienced users of the Outschool platform. Here is a link to my class schedule for the next several weeks. I plan to add more class times soon. Book the class as soon as you find the time that works for you.
https://outschool.com/classes/3481e1f5-f019-48ef-8d56-acdf26e65978/schedule#usMFmxTKwy
Once students have completed “The Game”, they are ready to start the multi-day class called Level One. Here is the link to that class. https://outschool.com/classes/53bd5532-3858-41ab-b6af-64adc9d83426/schedule#usMFmxTKwy
Please press “save” next to the class so that you get notified of future class scheduling times. This class offers Lessons 1, 2 and 3 of S-Cubed. Level Two will offer Lessons 4, 5, and 6…and so on…until we get to lesson 27 of Level one of the original program! As of today, October 21, 2022, I haven’t begun scheduling my Level One class because everyone who is thinking about embarking on the S-Cubed journey must complete “The Game” first. I officially begin teaching on Outschool on Monday if I get learners enrolled. Once I have ample numbers of students who’ve completed “The Game”, I’ll start scheduling Level One so we continue the S-Cubed journey. By clicking “save”, you’ll be able to get information about the future classes I offer for Level 1.
Redeem Coupons-
First class with Mr. D will be FREE if you do this-
$20 off coupon by creating your account and signing up for Outschool and enrolling in your first class.
When you sign up for Outschool for the first time, Outschool offers a $20 coupon. Once you verify your email address, they will give you access to your $20 off coupon. So, essentially, the first class a learner takes with me can be “free”. Here is a link with more information on how to get that coupon so you can apply it to my first class or to a future class or to another class by another teacher for your child. https://support.outschool.com/en/articles/5578246-educator-coupons
$10 off coupon-Time sensitive
I’ve created a special coupon code for you that you can use between now and November 14th for your learner to get $10 off of one of my classes! You must sign up for a class offering before November 14th!
Coupon code: DUNCAR9ZW510
If you use the $20 off coupon for the first class so that it is free, I will start scheduling “level one” and you can use the $10 off coupon toward that class!
Calling all Teachers!
Does teaching on Outshool sound interesting to you? The application process is pretty seamless. I was approved quickly. Email me with questions about the application process at onlineinthemiddlewithmrd@gmail.com and write “Potential Outschool Teacher” in the subject line.
If you apply, please use this link and the code below. https://outschool.com/teach?signup=true&usid=MFmxTKwy&utm_campaign=share_invite_link&teacherReferral=true
And then use this code-
MFmxTKwy
My logo on the Outschool platform looks like this:
Thank you again for all of your support over the years and for helping me spread the word about my new Outschool S-Cubed Sight Singing teaching adventure!
Dale Duncan
Aka Mr. D
