I’m coming closer to the end of the MOOC The Place of Music in 21st Music Education. During these first four weeks I’ve had the chance to reflect on how music is taught in school, and the role that new technologies can play in the improvement of our students’ education.
As part of the MOOC, I’d like to comment on my impressions on last week’s videos and lectures:
First of all, I’ve had the chance to see the potential of digital audio workstations (DAW) in diverse processes related to music making. We are used to a traditional approach that doesn’t include a computer as a musical instrument, but the truth is that, since it allows us to create music, it should be considered as such. As a 21st-century music teacher, I believe I should explore the educational possibilities of DAWs further.
Someone could consider that learning to create music through a computer is Less worthy than learning a traditional instrument. It seems to require fewer skills, but the truth is quite different. At least, that’s my thought after watching a live performance of a DJ-producer. You can see it below, and draw your own conclusions.
Another important issue dealt with has to do with the possibility of learning going open. This means, the possibility to learn on one's own, through the advantages that technologies of communication give to us. A clear example of this is Youtube. Nowadays, many people learn new skills through Youtube or other similar platforms. Of course, some of them are paid platforms, but there are many free options. Some of them are specialized in a specific area (music, for example). Coursera is a good example of a free platform focused on learning online. For musicians, there are many of them. Here you can see an example of www.freedrumlessons.com, a web focused on drum learning. According to my experience, I totally agree with the idea that learning has already gone open.
Finally, this week we've seen some examples of how Project Based Learning (PBL) is implemented in some schools, with great results. I think that this approach is closely related to music education, if we focus on teaching music from a practical perspective (and not focusing on history or theory). However, an important part of PBL has to do with sharing the outcomes of our project with the community. Music is an activity based on community, playing together for an audience. But we can go further and use the technology to share our work with a global audience, through blogs, websites, youtube videos, and other initiatives.
As you can see, a lot of interesting stuff is going on in this course. I hope to be able to implement all the ideas this course is providing me!
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