technology Sustainability and Technology
How to Creatively Overcome Obstacles We Face Regarding Time and Money Mike Fedyszyn, WMEA State Chair, Technology
Music teachers fight battles on a regular basis. This is espe- cially true when it comes to concerns regarding time and money. Too often, the instructional time allotted to teach music and the arts in
schools is decreased due to a variety of reasons. This leaves teachers struggling to teach the same curriculum with limited time. A similar struggle can occur when budgets shrink. When these types of cuts occur, it is easy for a music teacher to feel shell-shocked and wonder how their program can remain sustainable, let alone successful.
The important thing to remember is that cuts are often not a death sentence. While disheartening, a silver lining of these types of cuts is that they can actually provide op- portunities for teachers to re-examine their goals and philosophies while creating new, outside-of-the-box ideas for instruction. While these types of ideas certainly can’t fully replicate the quality of instruction lost due to cutbacks in time and funds, they still can be powerful tools that can be used to ensure student growth.
When Time Isn’t On Your Side… Most music teachers will experience the threat of decreased instructional time at least once during their career. Of course, we can prepare for these types of events by being active advocates for music education, but sometimes, even the best of advocacy efforts can result in an end result that is not preferable. When these types of situations occur, it is important to find new ways for our teaching to be sustainable.
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When losing instructional time in a performing ensemble course, one of the first components of the curriculum to be affected is any type of individual or small-group lesson program. This com- ponent is integral for many successful music programs due to the instruction of instrument-specific techniques not easily taught in a heterogeneous course (i.e. crossing the break on the clarinet, alto clef reading skills on the viola, multiple tonguing on brass instruments, etc.). A way to soften the blow of losing these in- structional opportunities is to create video lessons accessible on YouTube. These can be thought of as a master class of sorts for your students. Students can access these videos either during home practice ses- sions or during class time on smartphones, tablets or laptops. (This is a wonderful example of how a one-to-one technology model can fit in the performance-based classroom.)
Lesson programs also allow for numerous opportunities for formative and summa- tive assessment of musical skills in a more individualized environment. In the wake of lost instructional time, there are many ways to still assess individual musicians. Using audio or video recordings has long been a preferred method of assessment for music teachers. In a learning model with reduced instructional time, recordings al- most become necessary in order to acquire data on students. Hand-held audio and/or video recorders can be set up in practice rooms to record student assessments; these recordings can then be reviewed later by the teacher. Web-based audio recorders such as Vocaroo allow for assessments to be completed anywhere by students; recordings can be sent directly via email or other social media to anyone. Many teachers have even used Google Voice, a system designed to create a virtual phone number to manage all of their phone lines.
Students call the Google Voice phone number and can perform assessments into the microphone of their phone. For many years, SmartMusic has served as a software suite dedicated to providing feedback to students and teachers. While SmartMusic offers student subscriptions allowing for assessments to be taken at home, these types of assessments can also be done in practice rooms during regular class time.
Decreased Funding
Maintaining a strong music program can be challenging when faced with the prospect of a shrinking budget. Again, by thinking outside of the box, negative issues can become positive assets. A great example is the inclusion of enrichment op- portunities in the classroom, an important element of any successful music ensemble. One of the most common opportunities granted to students is the ability to work with a guest artist or clinician. If decreased funds do not allow for these types of op- portunities, a videoconference via Skype or FaceTime with a guest musician can be an effective tool for students to improve and grow. Other elements of running a successful music program, including the purchasing of new repertoire, can also be greatly affected by a decreased budget. Even an area such as this can be partially solved by technology. There are a number of methods to obtain sheet music legally online for free, including the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), a virtual library of thousands of scores cur- rently in the public domain. Other sites featuring legal sheet music downloads similar to IMSLP exist, including the Band Music PDF Library and the Choral Public Domain Library.
When experiencing decreased funding in a music program, it is easy to de-prioritize technology needs for your classroom. As a
April 2014
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