The changing face of technology in education is sometimes overwhelming to me. It would have been impossible for me to imagine the possibilities of today only a few years ago. When I first used a computer in college I was enchanted with the possibility of composing music on the screen and being able to hear my creation with a touch of a button. The MIDI sounds were not spectacular, but the thought that I was able to hear and see my composition at the same time — amazing.
A few years later I was introduced to the world wide web. With one click I could read other's thoughts, information, and ideas. We could share information at any time, at any place. Connection speeds were slow, but my fascination with the ability to have the entire world at my fingertips overshadowed the lack of speed of my computer. As we have emerged into the 21st century, the Internet is now a staple in education and in the home. Computer assisted instruction is an essential part of many classrooms.
Distance education allows students from all over the world to enroll in classes on a variety of topics. Video conferencing enables instructors and students from across the globe to work together in teaching and learning. This project seeks to utilize such videoconferencing for teaching in music theory. The fact that four strangers can get together from three different time zones to achieve a similar goal in teaching music is truly amazing.
The initial handshake between those involved in this project (Philip Donner, Matti Ruippo, and Frank Clark) took place on May 22, 2003. I had the privilege of working with these fine educators as the moderator for the syllabus conference presentation. We each were working towards a similar goal: to effectively teach music theory concepts to students via videoconferencing.
It was fascinating to watch the ongoing process between those in Finland and the United States. Several meetings via videoconference were conducted during the months of June and July. All those involved truly realized the usefulness of technology as well as its complications. Technical difficulties included practical issues such as space and time, quality of audio, and basic infrastructure problems. While these technical problems proved to be a nuisance, we were able to resolve them quickly and efficiently. The advantages of this type of learning far outweigh those technical problems.
Cultural differences as well as language barriers were addressed and resolved. By teaching similar topics to each other's students, the Finnish approach to teaching versus those techniques used in the United States were easily seen and discussed. To me, the cultural and pedagogical differences were fascinating and I truly believe that we need to expose our students to as many different cultures and ideas as possible.
It is very important for us, as educators, to help our students refrain from a closed minded education by never expanding their minds to uncomfortable, unknown situations. Students were interviewed on their thoughts of this style of teaching and learning. Their responses proved that the project was valid and added another exciting element to the use of technology in the classroom.
This project proved to be successful for all parties involved. Students were able to gain a better perspective on teaching styles from different countries. Instructors were able to implement new ideas into their teaching modules. Teaching via video conferencing allows us to teach differently and experiment with a new audience perhaps out of our "comfort zone". By using such technologies in the classroom, students were excited about learning and able to participate in active learning with those from another culture.
Finally this project has enabled all of us to closely examine the way we are teaching, allowing us to discuss more pedagogically sound approaches. Over the course of the next few months, we hope to continue to team teach using video conferencing. We would like to get more schools involved, including music classes at Peabody Conservatory and IUPUI. There are plans to submit a proposal for the Technological Directions in Music Learning conference this January. I feel as though the Syllabus audience was encouraged by our work. I hope that those in attendance took some of our thoughts and are integrating them into their classrooms at this moment.