Does Music Technology Improve Learning?

We all know how fun and motivating it can be to bring a music class to the computer lab and have them experiment with Finale, GarageBand, Audacity and more. But, do these experiences increase student learning and musicianship? Can a program like SmartMusic really improve student performance at concerts? I think that these are important questions for us to address as music educators. 

I found blogging to be a great tool for my music theory class. I was able to organize ear-training links and skill-building sites in one place for my students to explore. It was great to have a central site that they could be involved with. Composing with the assistance of Finale gave my theory students an opportunity to write for small ensembles and to preview their pieces. My orchestra students enjoy visiting my website where they can listen to past recordings and be inspired. These activities are great, however they just scratch the surface with where we can go with technology. And at this point there isn't much written about how utilizing technology translates to learning and musical achievement. I hope that by posing this question we can get a conversation started. Where do we go with technology in music education and how do we measure its effectiveness?

Kaltura

In my exploration of Adobe Flash on the internet, I came across this bizarre website: www.kaltura.com. Kaltura is a collaborative website, like wikipedia, but it focuses primarily on media. You can create collaborative music videos, films, activist sites, etc. I watched a few of the music videos and was just a little perplexed by them. I guess the idea of Kaltura is kind of exciting - being able to generate a music video or film with people in the Kaltura community from all over the world - but you have to be willing to give up some creative control in the process. It's kind of like playing the story game, where each person contributes one or two sentences and the end result can be unpredictable, bizarre and amusing.

Maybe this is the next step after social networking sites - places where people can create together; generate ideas and mobilize together? Am I too skeptical about this? Maybe I just need to give it a try to understand the process better....

Technology: Friend or Foe

The videos we watched in class and at home last week made me think about the role of technology in our lives. Technology is polarizing. Most people either love and embrace it or fear it. Some people feel that technology is complicated and problematic - the humorous video Introducing the Book illustrated that kind of thinking perfectly. Some people fear that technology is taking away jobs or 'watering down' skills required for success. The video Amateur brings this idea to the fore. If someone who does not play a musical instrument can create a musical performance by 'cutting and pasting', is that really music? Is that really what we want to encourage in our field? Do we really agree with ProTools auto-tuning anyone with the right 'image' into a music star? On the other hand, some people feel that technology, computers in particular, can alienate people from the real world. Both videos from nttdocomo, Hokusai's Waterfall and Mobile Life Story provide alternative ways of thinking about technology. We see that technology can make contact with people easier. We see families being brought together and embracing life more easily with the help of communication, learning and support devices. To me, technology is a tool. Like anything else, it can be used for so much good and bad. I hope that in my life it is something good: to bring me closer to others, to help me work more efficiently, and to discover more about the world around me. I look forward to continually reinventing my own 'mobile life story.'

Opera Rocks!

Honestly, I usually never think about what browser I am using. Whatever is available (Internet Explorer, Safari, etc.) becomes my direct line to the web. But, this week I had the chance to compare different browsers and I found some interesting things. I love Opera! (La Boheme, The Magic Flute, Wozzeck AND the Internet browser!)

Opera has several cool features:
*'speed dial' - a page where you can place links to your top 9 web pages
*an easy to find search box at the top of the page to find text on any webpage
*a widget manager - you can download widgets featuring games like sudoku and tetris, radio stations, international clocks, news feeds and more
I like these features, but it is also easy to navigate and visually engaging. It seemed a little slower than Safari, but not intolerable.

Camino is also a browser that I had never checked out before. I like Camino's bookmark bar which allows you to save folders and not just single pages to the bar. It also has preset folders containing links to popular news pages, like CNN, and it has a Mac news folder which provides access to several Mac pages.

I also checked out Mozilla, Internet Explorer and Safari from this perspective. I think Safari is the fastest browser and I am presently partial to it because I have my history of favorite pages and extensive bookmark lists there. I didn't really find too much in Mozilla and Internet Explorer that makes me want to use those sites more. 

But, I will definitely be diversifying my browser use after this experiement. I am excited to 
utilize features in Opera, Camino and Safari to my advantage. And, I am looking forward to this 
CAI class and to the new perspectives I will discover regarding technology!

Final Thoughts of the Semester

Well, my first semester in the PhD program has come and gone. It was a pretty tumultuous time. I learned a lot, did A LOT of work and had a great time. Tech trends in music ed was a great class. I am sure that the tools I learned will help me to meet the needs of my students more in regard to technology. And, I will be able to do some fun things, like make iMovies with photos from field trips and events, etc. or podcast recordings from concerts and even assignments. I just received good news that we are finally getting a computer lab for the theory program in my school and I am excited to see that come to fruition as well.

My final project was practical. Some students of mine play in a string quartet and they needed more music for an upcoming wedding, so I arranged "All I Ask of You" from Phantom of the Opera for them. I look forward to giving them the arrangement in the next couple weeks. Maybe we'll record it and upload it on their website!

Anyway, I will be back with more tech musings next semester, I'm sure. I can't wait to learn how to use insert flash images on my website...