Music Education and the Meaningful Use of Technology (original) (raw)

Tobias, E. S. (2017). Re-Situating Technology in Music Education. In S. A. Ruthmann & R. Mantie (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Technology and Music Education (pp. 291-308). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Technology’s place in music education is largely related to how it is socially constituted. Despite how technology enables intersections of and blurred boundaries between ways of being musical, it is often situated in terms of hard boundaries and compartmentalized notions of musical engagement. Furthermore, music education often situates technology as tools without necessarily considering related social, cultural or musical contexts. This chapter addresses how philosophical, pedagogical, and curricular perspectives play a key role in the types and degree of change that occur in relation to technology and music education. To forward related praxis, I propose that music educators re-conceptualize curriculum and re-situate technology to address social and cultural issues explicitly. I invite music educators to consider the potential of digitally mediated musical engagement within the contexts of curriculum as experience and as social reconstruction. The chapter considers how such change might occur and conceptual frameworks that might help in forwarding such work.

THE ROLE OF ICT ON THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF MUSIC AT THE SECONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL

This seminar paper explores the current availability and use of information communication and technology (ICT) for music education purposes, and music technology resources and facilities in secondary schools. Survey data is presented providing a snapshot of the status of computer and technology resources in secondary schools in several Metropolitan Regions. Discussion is focused on a case study into all secondary school and the perceptions of music teacher and their students regarding class music and ICT. While preferential treatment for resources, particularly access to ICT, was accorded to some disciplines, arts subjects such as music were frequently excluded. Results indicated that reforming music education to reflect contemporary music practice will not only engage student interest, but also assist in raising the status of music in the school curriculum by demonstrating its relevancy. An effective use of ICT and music technology can assist in emulating real life or authentic learning contexts to achieve this pedagogical change. However, a major challenge illustrated in this case study was the paucity of resources, a concern shared by many music educators. Therefore, this study adopted a descriptive survey which ascertained whether the potentials of ICTs when used in teaching would motivate secondary school students’ interest in studying music education amongst others.

Music Technology in Education – CHANNELING AND CHALLENGING PERSPECTIVES

2020

This anthology presents research projects that examine the intersection between music, technology and education from a variety of perspectives. The contributors are from a range of educational programs within traditional pre-, primary and lower secondary school education, as well as music performance and technology educational programs. Data for the studies stems from primary and lower secondary school, as well as informal learning environments, in addition to the contributors’ respective education programs. The research projects examine a wide range of topics such as gamification of ukulele and song teaching, composition with iPads in the classroom, live looping as an approach to ensemble conducting, authentic music technology learning spaces, music-making in the “laptop-era”, sound, the notion of net-based presence, and challenges in higher electronic music education. As this anthology is the first publication in the MusPed:Research series, it also contains an introductory chapter about the series and the research network Musikkpedagogikk i utdanning (MiU). This anthology makes a distinct contribution to the research field of music technology in education and questions educational practices in the school and higher educational levels, the goals and content of music education, and our understanding of music and music creation in itself.

ICT and Music Education

2009

Information and communication technology (ICT) is present in our daily life and is increasingly becoming part of educational settings. Teaching practices are influenced by the choice of media, tools and resources as well as the use we make of them in our lessons. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to raise discussion about the use of ICT to foster musical knowledge, collaborative learning, interaction and autonomy in a Distance Learning undergraduate course of Music Education offered in Brazil. One of the key principles of our programme is based on the need of practical musical experiences to build up musicianship and teaching experiences. Therefore, understanding the chosen Course Management System for online learning and looking for aproppriate tools to promote musical encounters have become a challenge while implementing this distance learning course. The search for meaningful activities to estimulate composing, performing and listening has been leading us to investigate collaborative learning as means of interaction, in both face- to-face and online situations. Through analysis of the available tools in three subject courses we suggest that musical knowledge and music teacher education can be encouraged by collaborative acitivities. Moreover, collaboration, seems to nurture students’ autonomy because the sharing of experiences makes one reconsider his/her own process of learning, which helps understanding individual needs and strategies for better attending the course.

Realising the Possiblities of Technology in the Music Education Research and Philosophy

2007

Interaction design research often models philosophical and theoretical principles in concrete form and the observation of how these ideas interact with users is a commonplace research activity. This approach is strongly influenced by ideas about reflection in action. The musician’s actions are also creative and reflection in and on action is also commonplace but because musical practice is ephemeral and does not always leave behind an object to reflect upon this presents a problem. Sound and video recording technologies have been used in music education to provide objects for reflection. The use of digital capture of musical events is an important basis for ways in which computers can assist music education.

UTILIZATION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF TECHNOLOGY IN MUSIC EDUCATION

UTILIZATION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF TECHNOLOGY IN MUSIC EDUCATION, 2015

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the utilization and effectiveness of technology in music education. The study surveyed music educators’ perceptions and attitudes towards technology use and its effectiveness in teaching and learning. It also explored the relationship between personal development and self-efficacy. A cross- sectional designed survey was employed to investigate attitudes and perceptions of music educators on utilization and effectiveness of technology in the classroom. The data collected was used to provide information about participant’s demographics, basic technology operational proficiencies and self-efficacy using technology. A convenience sample for this study was obtained by responses from an online questionnaire that was sent to state music educators who were members of two major professional organizations. The survey targeted a population of current and retired K-12 music educators n=1,273 with 117 responding to the survey which resulted in an 11% return rate (n=117). Respondents used a hyper-texted link connecting to the online survey that was incorporated via a sent email for the data collection process. The results of the study indicated that despite primary and secondary barriers towards technology utilization, the majority of music educators that participated in the survey actively endorsed the use of technology and its effectiveness in teaching. The implications of the survey suggest that music educators need and want to use technology in their classrooms and that authentic professional development/teacher training is the foremost way to increase self-confidence and self-efficacy in technology use.