« A&HM 4029 Spring 2008: Question #7 - Wiki | Main
A&HM 4029 Spring 2008: Question #8
By jamesfrankel | May 5, 2008
What role do you feel the Internet will play in the future of music education? Why?
Topics: Main Page |
« A&HM 4029 Spring 2008: Question #7 - Wiki | Main
By jamesfrankel | May 5, 2008
What role do you feel the Internet will play in the future of music education? Why?
Topics: Main Page |
May 5th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
I think the internet will play a huge and invaluable role in music education. The resources, information, instructions, software and tools available are growing exponentially, and the possibilities are endless for music educators. From the teacher who is only looking for lesson plan ideas, to the teacher who is using the internet daily in the music classroom to support, I believe it will become the resource of the future. I think the internet has become so ingrained in our students’ daily lives, that it is only natural to transfer that knowledge to the classroom, and music is no exception.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:13 am
As the technology grew, there were many ethical questions that were raised to the world. Today, there are many technology products that straddle the fine line of being ethical. Products such as the iPod and MP3 players let the students to download music from the Internet illegally for free. I am not saying that the iPod or MP3 players are bad products. They are excellent products, which invite students into the wonderful world of music. Also, the iPod is helping the school education by allowing students to download lectures and notes for them to study at their convenience. However, the iPod is also encouraging students into unethical practices of downloading music illegally.
The Internet provides many different types of music for free. There are many wonderful websites that provide free music legally, but there are even more websites that provide free music illegally. When the students download music illegally from different websites, they do not stop there. Students can then reproduce the music by burning them as a CD for friends. I have seen many students making personalized CDs for a friend as birthday gifts. This is very unethical, but people’s gesture of making a CD for someone as a present should not be considered unethical. This is one of the major examples of the very fine line between ethical and unethical actions.
This ethical issue is a problem in different fields other than music. In the publication world, the copyright laws are very strict. People cannot reproduce a copy of a textbook or any publication. Some people claim that a publication maybe duplicated if it is for the purposes of education. However, this is also a fine line between unethical and ethical usage where the intention of the educator is noble. It has taken sometime for people to adjust to the idea of copyrights. When the Xerox machine came out, this was a big issue. Now many people are used to the idea of copyrights in publication.
This situation in music is no different from the copyright situation in publication. The iPod and MP3 players have some out recently, and people are just beginning to adjust to the idea of copyrights in music. This ethical situation is not as complicated as people think. When people use common sense of what is right and what is wrong, they can act more ethically. To Burn Or Not to Burn is the question and dilemma for music educators.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
I completely agree with alice! Apart from the fact that we are heavily sedated in a web friendly era, tberefore using the internet to teach, organize, and commuincate is essential, music is moving at a rapid pace outside of the classroom. Meaning, the exposure to forms of music composed by others who have not had lessons to those who have been trained (for lack of a better term), are moving at a rapid pace through the internet. The YouTube/MySpace phenomena is only the beginning. We will not escape this culture therefore understanding how to manipulate it and use it in the classroom is essential to the advancement of music education curriculum. Refusing to comply can create barriers with students, widening the generation gap that can inevitably make you ineffective as an instructor. This is not to say that the entire lesson plan should rely on the internet, but adaptation and creativity should play a major component in incorporating its uses for the musical classroom.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Before answering this question I decided to Google “music education and the Internet”. I wanted to see just how many sites would be useful to me as a music teacher. I was amazed at how much obscure musical information I found. Hours later, after I had downloaded lesson plans on Opera, Jazz, and Delta Blues, I was grateful that I had come to the teaching profession at this time in Internet technology. As a beginning teacher I can ask for advice and guidance in problem areas on MENC website, I can connect with music teachers from different cultures to get a better understanding of world music, and I can find just about any piece of music I would ever need in a classroom. The music education resources are endless.
Besides the teaching resources: lesson plans, music software, scores, MP3s, and bogs there is also the necessity for teachers to keep up with their students. The students I am meeting when I observe music classes are light years ahead of their teachers in terms of Internet knowledge. I believe there is a serious disconnect between teacher training and classroom practice when it comes to navigating the Internet–I sometimes find I am the learner more than the teacher in some advanced High School music technology classes. I also believe the students who are not planning to go on to a music conservatory for advanced training on their instruments (which is many), have found a place to learn and enjoy music education by composing with music software and placing it on the web for peer feedback and recognition.
Another reason I believe the internet is essential to music educators is the need to extend the music class outside of the 40 minute period once a week that students have for music class. With Wikis and blogs teachers can extend their valuable class time that can add to the students curiosity and aesthetic enjoyment of music.
One note of caution I think all teachers should be vigilant about is verification of facts and copyright infringement.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
I believe that the internet will play a major role in music education in the future! Technology is becoming a huge part of the school curriculum and the internet is one of the components of Technology. Students can learn about composers and use websites to create music. Students would sometimes rather use the internet than listen to a teacher lecture all the time. It is up to teachers to make sure that we use the internet as a tool to enhance our music lessons. You should never have a list of things to do and tell your students to do it on the internet. That would cause a lot of problems!! In music I would have the environment where students learn musical concepts by “doing” (Playing instruments or singing) Then use the internet for them to expand or reiterate what was done in class. This could be recording the band and putting in on a blog and have students go and listen to it on the internet and then write a response. The students will have their own input in their playing in an ensemble or solo.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
If you want to imagine what the internet will be like in the future, take the same connectivity we have now, make it instantaneous, limitless, wireless and apply it to everything, anything and everyone all the time. Aside from the science-fiction and “Brazil” like consequences of an excessively connected world, the internet could also be a good thing; especially when it comes to its role in music education. Imagine a virtual band that students could play in with geographically diverse members playing in real time together. Of course, there is still nothing like feeling the vibrations and vibe of playing with a live ensemble, but think how amazing it would be to be able to go online to practice your instrument (loaded with sensors) with others, or to take a virtual lesson from a master. Wait…that’s possible now! Kids do it with games now, why not music? That’s because educational technology always seems to be ten years behind everything else. Imagine how much we could do for our students if gaming developers designed their games to teach content, or used the same level of production for educational instead of entertainment purposes.
Back to the internet band. I like the idea, but I’m not sure I’d want to engage in ensemble music with such an electronic prophylactic. As Woody Allan once observed, the experience might be something like” taking a shower with a raincoat on.”
Without a doubt, the vanishing limits of the internet of the future will have the power to bring students and teachers together in a new way. New hubs of learning will emerge where students will have more choices and control parameters like the pace an style of their own education. In the same breath, it will probably become an even greater, vaster sinkhole of diversions. There may be something essentially antithetical about the vitality of a real-life rehearsal or lesson, and the glazed-over trance-like mode that most of us enter after we’ve been surfing the net for a while. Many would have predicted that television would have become a great teaching tool for the same reason, and to be fair, it has to a certain extent, but it is only the messenger, not the message. Technology itself is neutral, and has the potential to convey both good or bad things. The question should really be about the content. A limitless medium would probably give rise to dynamic content that could fully take advantage of the medium. And if and only if that dynamic content was designed as an excellent music educational experience, then you’d have something to write home about.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Like Diane, I feel lucky to be just starting out in music education in 2008. Having been given wonderful opportunities over the past two years to observe and work with seasoned music educators, I feel that one drawback of the past is the music teacher’s isolation. There’re usually just one or two music teachers to a building (and some travel to different schools within a district). Mostly, since they’re so busy, their main professional connections are just within the district. After two or three years, unless they have active creative musical lives outside of teaching, this can lead to a lack of new ideas. With the internet, as Diane pointed out, lesson plans and connections are at our fingertips.
I also liked what John said about using blogs and wikis to supplement the classroom. What Dr. Frankel did when he was teaching sounds interesting as well—recording practice music that students can access at home. One of the most discouraging aspects of learning an instrument is the endless practice, and unless a child has a parent who has time to provide an audience, it can get pretty lonely and discouraging. I’m not sure I have the technical skills to pull this off, though, but I know can learn how.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Using tools and sites such as, Myspace, blogs, websites and CD Baby the student can promote their own music via the internet. The days of the large record companies seem to be going the way of the Dodo.
Why is this so powerful? Students are now given a chance to listen to artists from all over the world and influence their own creative compositions. Their works can be shared instantly via the internet. Feedback and collaboration seem to be readily shared.
There is a much closer relationship with the artist and fan then there ever was.
Many artists have decided to give themselves more control over their music by utilizing the internet and new music technologies. The Canadian singer, Jane Sibbery, like the band Radiohead has opted to promote their music via the internet. Both have taken on “you decide what feels right” pricing for their music. It turns out that people are more honest than you think. The average price Jane gets for a song is $1.30. That’s more than what the ITunes store charges.
What does this have to do with the future of the internet and music technology? Plenty. The world is more connected than it ever has been. Music from all over the world is accessible in our living rooms at the click of a button. Just like the golden days of Hollywood we are looking at the last days of the “Golden days of the Music Industry”.
I know many club promoters who use Myspace to listen to bands before booking a show. Students are given more and more opportunities to perform at different venues and to discover music on their own terms.
Some say that the world getting smaller is a sure sign of Armageddon, but maybe that was an executive at Atlantic Records who said that.
May 9th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Most people agree that the internet is one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century. The internet influences the behavior of people in many ways, including, but not limited to, the economy, entertainment, education and so on. It makes people closer and allows easier access to information than before. Depending on these changes in human behavior, the internet will play a vital role in the future of music education.
In the aspect of musical teaching, there are three possibilities. Firstly, the internet might create the virtual classroom for distance education. Actually, distance education programs have been happening for many years. Secondly, the internet might help students with disabilities via webcam “live teaching”. Thirdly, teachers can solve students’ problems immediately.
In the aspect of musical learning, the internet might change the traditional habits of musical learning. Students might practice instruments online or improve their listening by websites. Presently, they can already search musical information, such as musical history, musicians and concerts, by themselves on the internet. Also, they might take musical lessons online and discuss their problems simultaneously.
May 10th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
I think the internet will and already has been playing a very important role in music education. Just recently, I went onto U-Tube to listen to a recording of a song so I could get some stylistic ideas for my chorus before we go to NYSSMA. The internet not only connects everyone but also makes recordings and sharing more easily accessible. I also agree with Emy that music teachers are very isolated, but with blogs such as the ones on MENC, music teachers can become connected. I have had such a great time in this class experimenting with the software and I have been teaching for 7 years. I have been intimidated by music technology because I didn’t have the tools and didn’t have the time to learn them. Now that I am beginning to have them, I think this will enrich my teaching by leaps and bounds. The students are technologically savvy when it comes to My Space, but they only stick to websites that they know. They could use some guidance in using the internet to enrich them musically.
May 10th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
The internet will play an important role in the future of education. Classroom instruction will be supplemented by numerous teaching resources. These resources include: downloading music to ipods and mp3 players, and reviewing lesson plans and scores. Additionally, the internet will permit students to communicate with music blogs, to criticize each others compositions, and electronically synthesize new pieces. Morreover, the internet will provide endless types of music from different cultures.
May 10th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
I already think that internet takes huge role on music education; not just in classroom setting per se, but also in students musical environment in general. For instance, when person is inspired by the music from media, they can directly use internet and download any sources in particular music such as recordings, score, band info etc.
Because we are interacting with multiculture via technology, students can inspired by various types of music, and expand their musical knowledge.
Also throughout my experiences in this class, there are so many music pedagogy which integrate music and technology. We can download demo software like Auralia, sibelius,so that students can have an oppotunities to understand musical conception and perform their musical creativities by using computers.
Best aspect of using internet in music classroom is that students in K-12 has tremendous interests in technology, so that it makes them accessible with experimenting creating music. Certainly, we live in twenty-first centuries, I don’t see a only method of using traditional ways of acquiring music. I am degrading the classical ways of training. However, we have to acknowledge the fact that a lot of music that we listen in present day has to do with synthesizers and new technology as well as classicals.
Therefore, teaching music students by introducing internet and technology would make oppotunities for most children to become inclusive with musical learning in a way which they have never discovered.
May 10th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
*REVISED*
I already think that the internet takes huge role on music education; not just in classroom setting per se, but also in students musical environment in general. For instance, when person is inspired by the music from media, they can directly use internet and download any sources in particular music such as recordings, score, and band info etc.
Because we are interacting with multiculture via technology, students can be inspired by various types of music as well as expanding their musical knowledge.
Throughout my experiences in this class, there are so many music pedagogical tools which integrate music and technology. We can download demo software like Auralia and sibelius,so that our students can have oppotunities to understand musical concept. Another benefit is that student without such a musical training can experiment their musical creativities by using computers.
The best aspect of using the internet in music classroom is that students in K-12 has tremendous interests in technology. Certainly, we live in twenty-first centuries, and I don’t see the only method of acquiring music. I am NOT degrading the classical ways of training. However, we have to acknowledge the fact that a lot of music that we listen in present day has to do with synthesizers and new technology.
Therefore, teaching music students by introducing internet and technology would make oppotunities for most children to become inclusive with musical learning in a way which they have never discovered.
May 11th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
It’s difficult to even fathom the role of the Internet in the future of music education, as I feel as though I am still trying to catch up with the multitude of resources available to us now! The primary use of the Internet has been, in my opinion, research-based, which is an incredible resource for all teachers. It quickly expanded to a “connection device,” enabling a person to connect to anyone, anywhere, in any format – visual images, audio, and written word. This is where I feel that I, as a music educator, was slow to embrace the possibilities for my classroom, and am only now realizing what can be done as my students are so increasingly connected to this medium.
Chris talks about a “virtual band” and others mention music connections via the internet. This is much of the expansion that I see for the future. We are already there with a things like real time playing and on-line master classes, etc., but I don’t see the general music education population yet realizing the possibilities and stretching themselves to become wise and educated users of the “music Internet.” I believe the role of the Internet in the future of music education hinges not on its own expansion but on the willingness of the music community to embrace the possibilities.
May 11th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
In the future, internet will continue to be an important quick access search tools in music education. Teachers can find anything they want to show their students in class almost immediately from the internet. At the same time, access to valuable research articles and journals through internet has become more popular among teachers and this will make gathering information much more convenient and less time consuming. Also, teachers can interact less formally with students through the use of internet (blogs, emails etc) which will help build a better and closer relationships between teacher and student and most likely, students are more willingly to interact with teachers this way because they also use to this kind of communication style with friends.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:00 am
I think the role of Internet in the future of music education will grow bigger and stronger. I think for some music educators and music communities, it is already invaluable that they can’t be without it. I agree with Ramona. Music education doesn’t entirely have to rely on the Internet but incorporate it into the education in ways that can enhance students’ learning. Whether I like it or not, if something is useful then, it is and it is my job to adapt to the use of internet in my teaching so that the education that I provide for my students is as best as it can be. There are so many resources that I can get from the Internet. There are many interesting ways that a class can use the Internet. For example, sharing your composition, ideas or posting your opinion. I believe that it is our job as teachers to find better uses of the technology and the Internet to improve our teaching and students’ learning.
Ai
May 12th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I agree that the internet is one of the greatest inventions. I believe that internet is already has been playing a important role in modern world as to education and to be specific to music education. The Internet makes people closer to communicate to each other in different side of the world through e-mails, chatting room and even has telecommunication using webcame, actually looking other person when talking. It also allows easier access to information than before. In the future the Internet will play even more vital role in the music education.
Internet can be tool to teach in a musical classroom, the possibilities are, the Internet might help students with providing many fresh information. Another possibility is to use computer based program that is already in the Internet system, teachers can solve students’ problems immediately those students who need more help by providing more detail information.
Using the Internet might change and to improve in musical learning. Now days, some teachers has online private studios where students take music lessons online. They have an access to the Internet to search much information regarding the piece the student is performing.