In this second part of using photography in the classroom, we will take a look at how to use photography to understand how well students interact with the landscape around them. It is a perfect way of being able to “hear multiple voices in multiple ways” by advancing the skill of directed observation. One of the issues of teaching upper level course in any subject is how to put the students in the role of being active participants in the learning process where they build on the information obtained in introductory courses. Often, the instructor needs something that is both different and familiar, challenging but something that can be carefully monitored and does not require the students to pursue massive amounts of independent research. A common thread used in incorporating the camera into the classroom is “place – what has happened, is happening, and will probably happen in a place and/or to a place”. Photography can tell a story or even authenticate a description in ways that other medium such as words or statistics cannot. Not unlike using Geospatial Information Systems (GIS), it helps students find a pattern and make meaning of information around them. In the author’s course on Urban Geography, the students are given four assignments. In the first assignment, the students must write a short narrative describing their neighborhood. More than anything, it provides the instructor with a way of evaluating the student’s abilities of observation. This is before the students are introduced to any of the course content. Their writing should be a view of their world from multiple perspectives and describe deeply what they see. After four or five weeks in the course and having obtained some command of the topic, the students are now told to go out to those same neighborhoods and to isolate a concept described in class such as “exclusion, marginality, gentrification, disintegration, identity” and with the camera, photograph some examples. Some photographs presented in the article show how cities deal with homeless individuals by cordoning off entryways to building (preventing them from sleeping there at night) to providing park benches with humps and armrests (preventing the homeless from stretching out). I have run into similar problems at Dulles Airport and their benches that have armrests every two feet to preclude you from ever getting the least bit comfortable while waiting for a flight. Asking students to think about how ideas ground themselves on the landscape helps them develop an appreciation for looking and seeing actively, not passively. The third assignment is a capstone/synthesis project which best demonstrates their command of this new subject called urban geography. Interestingly, there was a mix of photo-essays, audio reports, spliced photos into a form of moving film, maps, literary musings and the traditional research paper. The fourth assignment is to present their findings and to write once again the first paper (assignment #1) from a new perspective on what they learned in the class. Allowing students to “see geography, relate it to their life worlds and be able to connect the theory with practice” takes the students from definitions and meanings of concepts to the point where students come to appreciate geography as multidimensional and integrated (Sanders).
Cited Work:
Sanders, Rickie. “Developing Geographers through Photography: Enlarging Concepts”. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, (2007): pg 181-195. Web.
CwBraun (Journal 6) Developing Geographers through Photography
April 26th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Chris
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Do Music Teachers Have a Responsibility to Teach with Technology?
April 26th, 2010 · No Comments · Kim
Many of music teachers today work with technology gadgets in their teaching studio. While they are using those tools such as electronic keyboard with MIDI, digital recording system and music software for teaching students in the classroom, they also search the Internet to look for teaching resources. Teachers are also discovering new ways to utilize the web as a platform to get connected with one another so they find blogs of like-minded colleagues from all around the world to share their teaching strategies as well as the latest educational technologies.
This article presents the author’s insights on using technology in teaching music and her claims are following:
- Technology can enhance students’ learning and make the learning process more engaging.
- Students can explore so many different ways of learning through use of technology.
- Giving students guidance with a computer and the Internet can be one of the most valuable and effective teaching strategies for today’s students.
Teachers strive to give the students a well-rounded, solid foundation, including music theory, history and the basic everyday technical skills of making music on whatever instrument being taught and they often turn to technology for help. They use recording device, electronic keyboard, and various software programs for different knowledge areas to help students improve and succeed. The author states that how well we, the teachers, incorporate the technology are more important than just bringing in the technology into the classroom. The author also claims that teachers should acknowledge the key point of using technology when it is applied and also be able to evaluate the outcomes whether it was used appropriately and successfully.
The article is not focused on music teachers in higher education, yet I thought that the following questions the author asks the readers are relevant to any music teachers in any level. The author left these questions unanswered as she wants the readers to answer themselves.
- Do music teachers actually have a duty to teach technology to our students as a part of music?
- Are the technologies we use simply are the tools to make our teaching lives easier?
- If we are not using any modern technology, are we depriving our students of something important?
- Are we exploring the world of technology available to us so that we are choosing tools that actually enhance and enrich our personal teaching styles, as well as our students’ experiences?
Shana Kirk (2006). Do music teachers have a responsibility to teach with technology?
American Music Teacher, August/September.
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Computers in Class Shutdown as Distractions?
April 25th, 2010 · No Comments · Bob
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/24/AR2010042402830.html?nav=hcmoduletmv
This article in this morning’s Washington Post caught my eye. It is in the Business section, but raises a disturbing question about use of computers in class. As most of us have probably realized, our students who bring computers to class to “take notes” or “view our powerpoints,” are doing other things, like social networking sites, internet surfing, instant messaging, etc. Maybe our lectures and discussion topics aren’t really eliciting those smiles and laughs from the students!
What should a teacher do? Any thoughts out there? No matter how engaging we are as teachers and how exciting our technology, are we ever going to be able to compete with SNS, goofing off on line with friends, etc? Do we need to be policemen within the classroom?
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Prosody and Technology
April 21st, 2010 · No Comments · Susan
Blog 9
Prosody is an important aspect of language production, it encompasses: word stress, intonation, and pausing. According to Tanner et al, (2009) in The effects of computer-assisted pronunciation readings on ESL learners’ use of pausing, stress, intonation, and overall comprehensibility, “Empirical research has begun to confirm the importance of prosodic features in learners’ overall intelligibility and perceived comprehensibility” (p. 51). However, there is a lack of teachers trained and qualified to teach these aspects of pronunciation. Computer technologies offer language learners opportunities to study prosody outside the classroom; circumventing the problem of a lack of qualified teachers. The question is: Are these technologies effective?
The authors studied and reported on “a self-directed, computer-assisted technique that uses oral readings to improve students’ perception and production of pausing, word stress, and sentence-final intonation” (p 53). A key piece of this study was that it was self directed and that, beyond an hour class explaining how to use the computer-based prosody program, teachers were not involved in the instruction. Teachers did not even provide feedback to the participants on their performance.
This 11 week study limited students’ interaction with a prosody computer program to 10 minutes per day. The 75 participants were divided into control and test groups. All were intermediate level students enrolled in a university English as a second language ESL program. They listened to native speakers “oral readings” (p.53) embedded in Power Point slides enabling “participants listen to them as many times as necessary to complete the listening” portion of this instruction (p. 54). Participants were able to check their perception regarding the occurrence of different prosodic features with an answer key. Eventually they recorded their own readings and compared them with the native speaker versions.
At the beginning and end of the study, the participants read passages that were evaluated by a team of listeners regarding their correct use of word stress, pausing, intonation and listener comprehensibility. Tanner et al cite Derwing’s & Munro’s definition of comprehensibility as “a ‘listeners’ perception of how difficult it is to understand an utterance’” (p. 52). The results of these evaluations were very interesting. It was determined that over the course of the 11 weeks the test participants made significant gains in the correct use of word stress, pausing and intonation compared with the control group; however, “there was no significant change in the learners’ level of perceived comprehensibility” (p. 61), the ability of the listener to understand what has been said.
The authors speculated that the lack of improvement in comprehensibility could be due to such factors as the lack of teacher feedback, the brief exposure with the program of no more than 10 minutes a day, and the programs limited length of 11 weeks.
Despite the stability of the test participants’ comprehensibility results, computer-assisted pronunciation programs still hold promise. Significant gains were made by learners in the fundamental prosodic areas of word stress, pausing and intonation and learners and the majority of participants “felt they had improved” (p. 59) and that they “could understand English conversations more easily and they had increased their knowledge of English pronunciation”. While these areas were not being studied, improvements in listening and pronunciation knowledge are goals in language teaching. It would be interesting to see if studies that included some teacher feedback or were of greater length, improved comprehensibility. These results also raise the question of whether other non-prosodic factors have a more profound effect on comprehensibility; such as, the correct phonetic pronunciation of different phonemes (language sounds); and if so, are computer-assisted applications addressing these areas having a positive impact on user’s comprehensibility.
Tanner, M., et al. (October 2009). The effects of computer-assisted pronunciation readings on ESL learners’ use of pausing, stress, intonation, and overall comprehensibility. Language Learning & Technology, (13) 3. p. 51-65. Retrieved from http://llt.msu.edu/vol13num3/tannerlandon.pdf
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The medium is the message: cyberspace, community, and music learning in the Irish traditional music virtual community
April 21st, 2010 · No Comments · Jennifer
This article maps the progression of interactive Web sites used to facilitate the teaching and learning of the Irish traditional virtual music community referred to as IrTrad. Collectively, these sites provide information on performance and musical quality, performance practices, issues of authenticity, learning exercises, repertoire, and other areas related to learning the music of IrTrad as well as its corresponding instrument, the tin whistle.
“A hundred years ago, the Irish traditional music community was geographically bound, imbued with cultural significance. Individuals learned informally, a tune at a time from other players, playing music in kitchens and social gatherings; few outside of Ireland and the Irish diaspora played or even heard this music. Today, due in large part to emerging technologies, this music circulates unreservedly among people who may have no personal connection or knowledge of what it meant at one time” (p. 99).
Essentially, it is an evolution of an Irish traditional music community through time and space into the virtual communities that facilitate a “reenactment” of these intimate musical gatherings. Musicians from all over the world can engage in teaching and learning a unique tradition that was at one time bound by geography.
The author refers to the idea that virtual communities are no longer defined by their geographical constraints, but rather by the relationships and social networks that are constructed from related interests and knowledge and shared projects and ideas. As a result, the collaborative process of exchange is independent of any geographic proximity or institutional affiliation or agenda. These communities of interest create a space within the digital realm that provides its users with a “home base” for directed creativity and learning. This makes for a useful learning tool and reference point for teachers wishing to direct students to specific learning experiences that are supported by this type of global learning.
Prior to the Internet, IrTrad was learned through informal musical gatherings in which musicians came together to share their latest variations and tunes with close friends and fellow musicians. The scene was alive; thriving on the spontaneous creativity shared amongst those who were present. The simple tunes came in a variety of versions, names, and histories, and those in attendance learned through listening and playing, or what we call observational learning today. This collaborative aspect is responsible for the many variations and tunes we hear today. These intimate interactions, then, are the essence of this tradition. Without them, the isolated practice of tunes is nothing more than reading from a book, and this is where virtual communities dedicated to learning through observation and interaction becomes essential to the longevity of this particular musical tradition.
Several sites facilitate this type of interactive and observational learning:
- Brother Steve’s Tin Whistle Pages, a result of Canadian musician Stephen Jones’s years of experience teaching whistle to primarily adult learner http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve. Brother Steve’s site features standard notation with audio clips of examples as well as informative tips and explanations (p. 104).
- A site that offers paid and prescribed lessons via the Web is http://www.feadogonline.com/. Feadóg-Online is initiated by James Donohoe, musician and primary-school teacher who is based in Mount Temple, County Westmeath, Ireland – the learner does not interact directly with the teacher or other learners, but can receive feedback from the teacher via learner-directed e-mail questions (p. 104).
- Another free site, offered by the BBC, is the Virtual Session http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/r2music/folk/sessions/swf/folkmenu.html , which allows learners to play along, with standard notation, to excellent recordings of several well-known traditional musicians playing session standards (p. 105).
- IrTrad performer, Michael Eskin, has a series of instructional videos posted on YouTube with links to his website. Examples of these may be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6idv6eJA2IQ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgbiSxmtVwl. Tunes are played by Eskin in tempo and then at half speed, and the camera remains on his fingers so that learners, in addition to learning ‘by ear’, can also learn through observation (p. 105).
- This site provides feedback on the Clips and Snips pieces, in which an interactive, synchronous or asynchronous, platform is perpetuated. http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=50523 (p. 106).
- A peer-directed site known as Whistle This! http://www.whistlethis.com provides its users with interactive opportunities for feedback and discussion opportunities.
The article lists several other sites, but I found these to be the most user-friendly and indicative of the progression of interactive Web sites used to facilitate teaching and learning of this musical tradition.
Waldron, J. L., & Veblen, K. K. (2008). The medium is the message: cyberspace, community,
and music learning in the Irish traditional music virtual community. Journal of Music,
Technology and Education. (1)2,3, 99-111. doi: 10.1386/jmte.1.2 and 3.99/1
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Why students learn differently
April 20th, 2010 · No Comments · Jonathan
One of the challenges for faculty teaching online is to understand what motivates their students. While studies have been done in traditional environments about why students might succeed or fail in their educational endeavors, not much has been done to analyze motivations and strategies among online learners. Successful learners must be motivated to learn and to become self-regulated learners.
Jennifer Richardson and Tim Newby chose to apply John Biggs’s Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) to online learners. The SPQ covers a matrix of six motivations and strategies with three student approaches to learning: surface, deep, and achieving. Each approach is linked to a motive and a learning strategy. For example, a student with a surface motive for learning just wants to get through the course, one with a deep motive is honestly interested in the material for its own sake, and a student with an achieving motive cares more about the grade than about learning. Each of these motives is aligned with an associated strategy that furthers those motives.
The authors used the SPQ on about 120 students, split close to evenly by sex, who were enrolled in graduate courses in either an engineering field or an education field. For more than half of the students, the course about which they were surveyed was not their first online course. The majority of the students were between 25 and 35 years old.
The results showed that students with more experience in online learning became more engaged in their own learning with their motives and strategies moving towards those of more mature learners who take more responsibility for their learning. No difference was noted for the sexes of the subjects. Of interest is that full-time students were more in grades than learning. Younger students, as expected, were more likely to use surface strategies than older students. The most interesting finding was that students in the engineering program were more likely to have surface motives and use surface strategies while education students tended toward deep strategies.
The overall conclusion of the study is that faculty engaged in teaching online should be more aware of the differences in engagement styles of their students and tailor the courses accordingly. Students enrolled in these programs would also benefit from assistance in understanding their motivations and how to improve their learning.
Richardson, J. C., & Newby, T. (2006). The Role of Students’ Cognitive Engagement in Online Learning. American Journal of Distance Education, 20(1), 23. doi:10.1207/s15389286ajde2001_3
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The Toys Are Really Cool, But Will the Kids Play with Them? (Journal Article Eight)
April 20th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Bob
http://mcel.pacificu.edu/jahc/2006/issue1/articles/vess.php
I finally found an article with a title I could keep for my entry this week. The article is well written and tells the tale of a History professor teaching a survey course in World History and surveying how the students in two different formats of the course used the technology associated with the course. If this were a movie, it would contain a legend “viewer discretion advised.” If you are a teacher, excited about teaching with technology and eager to explore learning with motivated students who are “thirsting for knowledge,” don’t read this note! Skip to the next one. The results of this study will probably depress you.
Professor Deborah Vess teaches History at the Georgia College and State University and wrote this article in the Journal of the Association for History and Computing in the April 2006 issue. By the way, you may recognize the name of the university because it has been in the news lately related to the sexual assault scandal involving Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, and a female student from this university.
In the study, Dr. Vess compared the patterns of technology use in two sections of a course – World History to 1500. The first use was in an asynchronous class using specially developed course materials as part of an electronic curriculum eCoreTM, adopted by the University System of Georgia. The course materials were technologically state of the art, employing advanced Flash applications such as interactive maps, timelines, and images as well as audio, Quick Time movies, and VR files. All of the modules of the course were accessed on line. These materials were to supplement a hard copy textbook.
The second use was a hybrid class on the same subject with regular face to face class meetings, but online access to the same eCoreTM materials. Assignments were similar in both. Dr. Vess used WebCT to track student usage and followed up with student surveys to determine how the students used the technology in both courses. Her findings were a little disturbing.
In summary, she concluded: 1) both online and hybrid class students see the internet as a place to quickly gather information needed for course projects rather than an area for scholarly exploration, 2) “usage patterns analyzed here provide little evidence that traditional narrative text transplanted into the digital environment serves the interest and needs of most students nor the general aims of the profession,” 3) the more complex the technology the less likely the students were to explore it online, 4) the online quiz feature of the materials was the most heavily accessed area, peaking during periods of study for the tests, 5) the timeline features were favored by students because they did not have to search for material in many places and the timeline feature supplied the information quickly and in small segments, 6) younger students (hybrid course had an average age of roughly 19) were less attuned to the multimedia resources than the older students (asynchronous course had an average age of 33), and 7) time spent on the pages of the computer modules was too short to gain any real insight from them.
In general, Vess writes “applications that demand large amounts of time, a willingness to explore, and the need to integrate vast amounts of material generally do not attract student interest.” She goes on to state “unless we design creative environments and assignments that prompt students to transform their online explorations into something beyond the fact byte, students will continue to see our most sophisticated multimedia applications as mere toys.” She concludes that students want to find only the information that is absolutely needed (for a test or quiz or specific question), find the easiest way to get to it, and find it in the simplest form.
So much for the myth of students “thirsting for knowledge!”
A few observations come to mind. First, it could be that the assignments and course assessment approaches that Dr. Vess used (tests, etc) encourage the students to seek only the facts, not the analysis which requires a more in depth use of the materials. A solution to this would be to orient student assessment to assignments requiring more in depth use of the materials.
Second, I believe that teachers must keep in mind that students are not always the idealistic truth seekers that they, the teachers, are. Teachers are generally life long learners who seek knowledge and like to spend time exploring and, in some instances, using new technology. Many students are not. By the texts we have read, we know students in general have short attention spans, are addicted to social networking sites, texting, and gameplaying, and generally lack the ability to think critically. It should not be that much of a surprise that sometimes the technology related to higher education still doesn’t change that student profile or their response to a more indepth analysis present in higher education oriented technology.
Third, just because the teachers and the higher education authorities think that certain methods of teaching are exciting and that students will use them, doesn’t mean students are interested in them. My experience in an advisory body where we developed a two day seminar every year on technical tax topics to update practitioners comes to mind. Our advisory board always came up with what we thought were marvelous ideas on what would be neat topics to cover. Inevitably, the attendees wanted the nuts and bolts they could use in their practices, not the theoretically challenging, but relatively impractical sessions that the board sometimes came up with. This doesn’t mean that teachers should dumb down their courses and not experiment, it just means that students are going to act like students and fit the profile that has been defined by a number of the writers of works we have read for class. Teachers need to be sensitive to this profile and structure their courses appropriately.
Unfortunately, in this study, Dr. Vess was disappointed by the results and concluded that even though the technology was really neat, the students didn’t want to use it, except to meet the course requirements and pass the tests!
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Swtiching to Digital Musical Score in the Digital Age
April 20th, 2010 · No Comments · Kim
This article focuses on the shift of traditional paper musical scores to digital musical scores. I asked myself a question as I read this article: are music educators (including myself) and publishers of printed music really ready to go digital?
The music recording and publishing companies have transformed their way of delivering content last few years. I don’t even remember when I last bought a CD of audio music. I still have not started to look around “digital musical score,” yet I have downloaded and used sheet music on Internet a few times. With the emergence of online music stores such as iTunes and Amazon MP3 where music can be purchased and downloaded, the old business model of selling physical records or compact discs seem to become antiquated. One would think that with this relatively sudden transition to digital audio files, musical scores, sheet music and even method books would follow with a similar transition into this digital age. The author claims that music teachers and publishers are more hesitant to embrace this transition to digital music notation even though there sites that offer legal downloads of sheet music, and many people are already taking advantage of these sites.
The author states that one should consider sites where legal download is available before making the switch from paper source to digital scores. He suggests the following websites:
For classical music: www.imslp.org (free)
For popular music: www.musicnotes.com (user fee applied)
www.sheetmusicscores.com (user fee applied)
The author adds that the demand for digital downloads of musical scores will increase to the extent that publishers provide their resources for purchase and download. The author envisions that most of musicians (or at least our successors) will move away from paper (I won’t be one of them). He claims that musicians and even orchestras are trying out digital music readers (the Amazon Kindle version of musical score).
Musicians interact with music notation in a more intimate fashion than the way the average person simply consumes musical audio. I personally like to mark up my scores with fingering and reminders. So even though it would be terrific to have a nice thin device that could display musical notation and be placed conveniently on a music stand or music rack on the piano, we still would need the capability to edit our own score or even “write” on it. Even with a tablet PC or software that allows a user to mark up and annotate score through the touch screen, I think this advanced technology can benefit classes such as music history, music theory and group instrumental pedagogy instruction where professors and students can take an advantage of exploring the tool in so many different ways to interact with one another.
Mario Ajero. Switching to Digital Musical Score in the Digital Age: American Music Teachers. April/May 2009. pp. 58-59.
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Global Links in Distant Learning
April 19th, 2010 · No Comments · Uncategorized
This article describes student’s experiences in the use of educational “Global Links” as a tool used to connect US students in East Carolina University, ECU, with students in South Korea to attend a distant learning class that is presented to both student groups. The described experience was presented as an example of “meshing two contrasting cultures with a different primary language via the internet”.
East Carolina University has launched a “Global Initiative Program” in 2003 that has used different communication technologies to interface with students in 18 different countries around the world. ECU has utilized video linking as a tool to support collaborative efforts between its faculty and their partners in other countries.
The focus of the article was to describe the process of developing a “global link” that supports distant learning. Furthermore, the article described students’ assessments of their experiences.
In order to develop a successful global link among groups, the execution of the following four steps is necessary:
1. Identify and establish a partner. This requires the search for a corresponding group that are interested to engage in such an educational exercise.
2. Pre-planning of the needed steps for a successful global link requires the identification of course topics, examining available communication tools and developing a calendar that fits participants.
3. Activating the global link by utilizing periodic interactive sessions among the students where the instructors act as facilitators.
4. Collect assessments of the global link from the student utilizing questionnaires. These assessments should include benefits and challenges they had experienced.
The global link was supported by use of “Skype” and “Centra” which is a new connectivity tool that is currently used to support distant learning. You can learn about this new service by connecting to its website at: http://www.saba.com/products/centra/ . The Centra connectivity mode is currently used at Stanford University, US.
It was interesting to read the comments and assessments of the students. The most prominent comments were:
1. This interaction with other students in other countries has provided them with an opportunity to experience the “Beginning of International Awareness”
2. Some “Innate Facts” about this experience is the fact the there was a language barrier. English was the used language which presented a communication challenge to the Korean students even though they had considered English as their second language.
3. The other “Innate Fact” is the difference in time zones that presented a challenge to coordinate the global link as well as the importance to coordinate the educational colanders between different countries since they may have different schedules.
4. The challenge of having technology that works was clearly presented by the expression “Technology is great when it works or if it works”. This indicated that the students had struggled with the technology and had been frustrated by the experience.
This article presented that use of global links between institutions to support distant learning courses is very helpful to propagate “internationalization” of educations. The challenge is how to coordinate the efforts between the institutions and how to identify reliable communication tools that will facilitate the collaborative interaction of the participants.
Hanan
Source:
Ko, B., Boni, Boswell, & Lee, H. (2009). Exploring student experiences of a global link; recommendations for future programs: International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning , 6(1 1), Retrieved from http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Nov_09/article02.htm doi: 1550-6908
Tags:Hanan Alkibsi
The 21st Century Recital Hall: How Internet Audio and Video Can Provide an Alternative Stage
April 19th, 2010 · No Comments · Kim, Uncategorized
This article discusses the effects of technology on teaching music and conducting recitals. Internet audio and video can provide an alternative stage for recitals and performances. The emergence Podcasts and Internet radio or TV show help a lot in the music industry and teaching. These technologies allow anyone with a computer and a microphone to create Podcast.
Music teachers, including myself, often associate music technology with theory, notation or sequencing software programs. However, there is technology that we might not always consider to be relevant to our classrooms (or studios): Internet audio and video. The author claims that the music teachers need to recognize this medium for delivering content and start incorporating it into their classrooms (or studios). This article explores how the development of technology can give our students an alternative outlet for performance in contrast to traditional recitals through video and audio Podcasts and posting recital videos on web such as youtube and Google video.
The popularization of the iPod or iPhone has led to a new genre of media called podcasts. And this technology allows virtually anyone with a computer and a microphone to create their own podcast. The author suggests that teachers may assign students to produce periodic educational music podcast shows and upload students’ performance on it. The author also points out the concern of copyright law when “uploading” their assignment. Students should be educated with copyright law and be careful about the content of the material they would share on Internet. The author suggests the websites such as Google video and youtbube as a place to contribute students’ performance. He says that it can be handy for students who want to share their performance video with other people because students can expect to receive comments not only from their peers and teachers but people around the world if they choose to share the video with a global audience.
Integrating such technology tools in classroom or private studio can be a daunting task for both teachers and students. Especially some college music students can be sensitive or feel uncomfortable with sharing their performance on web where complete strangers can watch and judge their performance skills. Musicians perform in public all the time, but it can be a complicated issue for some students if it becomes an “assignment” as they may not feel comfortable “performing” where their video can be delivered outside of the place.
People won’t be able to recognize the benefit of educational technology until they become beneficiaries, but they will be able to appreciate it once they learn how to apply the tools appropriately in proper spots in their teaching field. I believe that both teachers and students should have a rock-solid understanding on using certain web tools for their teaching and learning.
Mario Ajero. The 21st Century Recital Hall: How Internet Audio and Video Can Provide an Alternative Stage: American Music Teachers, January, 2007. pp. 58-59.
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