Learning about music with the new tools!

I'm a part time teacher and part time musician in Manchester UK, addicted to the new tools for learning that Web 2.0 offers. I feel really lucky that music is my subject as digital technology and the online environment is so sweet for many aspects of music education. I'm really surprised that I'm struggling to find other music educators with whom to build a community so I'm hoping this group will attract some interest! But if I'm looking for you, please join this group so we can share ideas.

0 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ryan Child on June 30, 2007 at 3:30pm

Hi pete,
I'm also addicted to web 2.0, and since my career is in music I want to find ways to apply it. I haven't found much thus far, but there has been a lot done in language learning... one of my favorite websites is chinesepod.com. It's been very effective for me personally so far in learning Mandarin. Coincidentally, I'm taking training in the Suzuki method right now which is based somewhat on the similarities between how we learn language and music...hmm....

Permalink Reply by pete whitfield on June 30, 2007 at 11:45pm

Hi Ryan,
This is slightly off-topic (for classroom 2.0) but with my professional musician hat on I work as a kind of e-session musician (string arranger) where I'm set up to work from home and supply audio, midi, scores - whatever's required. I think musicians are slowly getting into this - and not relying on having to turn up somewhere or book a studio when they are asked to do a session, they just do it all from home.
There is a service called esession also, though I've not managed to set it up to work! And a very exciting new project from Ilio (big samples company in California) called samplebase.
I'm hoping to get involved with a project called music bridge. This part of a great educational technology group called EdTechTalk - please join in this if you can!

Permalink Reply by Lucie deLaBruere on July 1, 2007 at 9:09pm

I am not a music educator, but I support musicians in a variety of ways including being on the Board of Directors of a wonderful projects called The Vermont Midi Project. Although theVermont Midi Project is a password protected online collaboration project (there are some good examples of the power of online collaboration as real music composer mentor students through several iterations of their music composition. (Also the Vermont Midi project www.vtmidi.org started in Vermont but has expanded beyond the scope of our Green Mountain State. Check out a post I wrote in the Infinite Thinking Blog at
http://www.infinitethinking.org/2006/11/what-happens-when-we-share....

Permalink Reply by pete whitfield on July 2, 2007 at 12:53am

Thanks Lucie - yes, I've read much about the Vermont Midi Project - it is an excellent model. I should imagine it has evolved beyond midi, as music software (like Garageband) now facilitates much smoother integration of midi and audio. The 'golden' aspects of the project for me, are 1] it promotes a student to publish, 2] it encourages reflection 3} it stimulates peer review and 4] it links student with the creative arts professional world. Beautiful!
My greatest success with Moodle (after 1 year of experience) has been including video recordings of students' creative work in forums for review and reflection - these are popular music students who often work oganically (rather than relying on notation). Then the students greatest criticism is that their tutors (apart from me) don't get involved in the informal feedback, so I still have to work with my own colleagues on the cultural shift that online tools require. (The feedback videos are uploaded here in Classroom 2.0.)
I also tried something called The New Music Forum - a monthly song from any student in my institution (a large FE college). Again, my colleagues didn't take to it, but I got some excellent involvement from music professionals and former students.

Permalink Reply by Carol Broos on August 17, 2007 at 2:02pm

I am also highly interested in web 2.0 and am part of the Vermont MIDI project, here in Illinois. I am looking at video conferencing with my sixth graders using iChat and GarageBand. We want to start slow. I also have a website were I post their compositions and they can comment on them. www.carolbroos.com

I also have a teacher-friendly site for music and technology teachers - www.beatechie.com

Permalink Reply by pete whitfield on August 19, 2007 at 10:13am

The Vermont MIDI project sounds awesome. I've not seen inside it (I believe it is password protected) but from what I've read, it appears to be a a kind of social network (started perhaps before social networks really hit us!). With my students, the thing that lights their fire is the peer and professional feedback they can get by posting their work online - I've seen this in my first year with Moodle. And next year I'm going to build every aspect of learning round their creative work posted online. We are starting a ning site for the all the college music courses and I have high expectations

Permalink Reply by Kiana June Weber on November 5, 2007 at 9:06pm

As a student, I wish that more of my professors in college would use more up to date technology in teaching music, and teaching music education as well. Some of my classes seem pretty archaic, but I imagine that it is hard to adapt if you have been teaching one way for a long time.

Permalink Reply by pete whitfield on November 18, 2007 at 1:33am

Kiana - many apologies for not replying to you sooner. I don't know how I managed to miss your post. It's good of you to offer music teachers a excuse for not adapting to change but it's still not an excuse in my opinion! I'm very interested to hear what sort of things you are studying that might make better use of technology and web tools. Is this music fundamentals (like theory and aural) or creative activities or music in society modules?

Permalink Reply by Soultravelers3 on March 4, 2008 at 5:37am

I was attracted to your picture because my daughter plays the violin! I am not a teacher, but we are on an open ended trip around the world, so we have had to explore new ways of doing things, including my daughters violin and piano lessons as she is quite talented in those areas.

We are thrilled with our piano teacher who works out of Chicago and is also a talented Jazz musician:

http://www.pianoweb.com/

Looks like you might have a lot in common and I will have to tell him about this community.

Permalink Reply by Linda Millard on July 10, 2008 at 1:54pm

I am an elementary music teacher, and I understand the need to use these new tools to reach the "digital natives," only I'm stumped! Some applications seeem to lend themselves to what I do, but I'm afraid I'm just not creative enough to really use these things to their full potential. How do I use the available technology with the limited hardware available in my classroom?!? I teach in a big district, but my school is remotely located so I don't have contact with many other music teachers and would like to get some ideas and see what others are doing. I hope this is the right place for me!

Permalink Reply by pete whitfield on July 10, 2008 at 2:01pm

Linda - I'm going to answer your question with a question! What would you like to do with your students? What sort of things do you explore in music with them? I will try to offer some suggestions and I'm sure others will in this community!
Do you know if any sites are blocked by your district - this will make a difference to what you can do. Good to meet you!

Permalink Reply by Dan Erbacher on July 11, 2008 at 8:41am

I teach in a rural district, and we have FINALLY gotten access to a computer lab for our elementary students. I'm looking for good, safe activities to use with my elementary general music classes.