Amy M. Burns

Elementary Music Technology and Integration

Amy M. Burns has taught PreK-grade 4 general music for over 25 years at Far Hills Country Day School (FH) (https://www.fhcds.org/). She also teaches grade 5 instrumental class, directs the FH Modern Band, is the Performing Arts Department Manager, and teaches privately in the after-school conservatory, having served as director for over 20 years. She has authored four books and numerous articles on integrating technology into the elementary music classroom. She has presented many sessions on the topic, including four keynote addresses in TX, IN, St. Maarten, and AU. She is the recipient of the 2005 Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) Teacher of the Year, the 2016 New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) Master Music Teacher, the 2016 Governor’s Leader in Arts Education, the 2017 NJ Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year, and the 2026 NJMEA Distinguished Service Awards. Her most recent publication, Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches (2020), is available from Oxford University Press (OUP) and Amazon. Burns is also the Community Coordinator for Midnight Music (MMC) at https://midnightmusic.com/, the General Music Chair for NJMEA Board of Directors, and the Elementary Music Consultant for MusicFirst (https://www.musicfirst.com/), a company built by music educators for music educators, dedicated to helping music teachers and their students make the most of technology in the classroom.

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Canva Session Takeaway: 10 Ideas to Level Up Your Elementary Music Classroom

July 08, 2026  /  Amy M. Burns

Tip: Click on the coffee icon to see the video.

Thank you for joining me for my Elementary Music Summit session, Ready to Level Up Your Music Classroom? 10 Powerful Canva Tips Every Teacher Should Know! I know we covered a lot of ideas in a short amount of time, so I've created this Canva Session Takeaway to help you revisit the highlights whenever you're ready since the slides will expire today. Inside, you'll find ten practical Canva ideas, quick tips, and classroom applications to help you save time and create engaging learning experiences for your elementary music students.

Canva has become one of my favorite time-saving resources for creating engaging music lessons. Whether you're designing interactive rhythm activities, building concert programs with QR codes, creating classroom games, or making printable manipulatives, Canva can help bring your ideas to life.

To help you remember everything we explored together, I've put together a 10 Canva Tips & Ideas Handout that highlights each idea, explains how to get started, and shares practical classroom uses for elementary music teachers.

Inside, you'll find ideas for:

  • 🎵 Creating interactive play-along activities

  • 🎹 Designing virtual instrument lessons

  • 🎮 Building games with Canva AI

  • ⏱️ Making custom musical timers

  • 🎼 Creating concert programs with QR codes

  • 🏆 Designing certificates and classroom rewards

  • ✨ Exploring powerful Canva tools like Magic Layers and Background Remover

  • 📚 Creating LMS banners for your music classroom

  • 🎤 Building animated pitch exploration activities

  • 💡 Plus my favorite Canva time-saving tips!

My biggest piece of advice? Don't try all ten ideas at once. Choose one that solves a challenge in your classroom, experiment with it, and build from there. Before long, you'll have a growing library of reusable resources that save you time while keeping your students engaged.

Thank you again for spending part of your week with me at the Elementary Music Summit. It was a joy sharing these ideas with you, and I can't wait to see the creative ways you use Canva in your own music classroom!

Happy creating!

🎨 Session Resources: https://rebrand.ly/emscanva26

Join Me Today!

If you're looking for more practical ideas, technology tips, and ready-to-use activities for elementary music, be sure to grab your free ticket to the Online Elementary Music Summit. You'll learn from dozens of elementary music educators and walk away with ideas you can use immediately in your classroom.

Today's session is at 4 pm EDT and it is about how to use MusicFirst Elementary in your music classroom when you return!

🎟️ Grab your free ticket here:
https://amy-burns--thatmusicteacher.thrivecart.com/all-access-pass-jul26-fa/

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