Plugging in the Music Classroom

Plugging in the Music Classroom

Plugging in the Music classroom requires the integration of technology but the way forward is a rocky one. Like every goal dreamed about by a technologist or music educator interested in expanding the use of technology there is always a tension between what is possible and what is practical. A popular fable claims that the road to hell is paved with good intentions and many a technologist with the best intentions has found themselves singed because they did not take into account the difficulties they would face trying to implement their goals. Although we do not have time to explore every difficulty experienced by music teachers while for technology into their classrooms, let’s take a moment and discuss three issues that are common to many music programs and their possible solutions.

Information Overload

“Just a little bit more!”

When asking any teacher to adopt a new skill set we oftentimes forget that we are dealing with highly skilled individuals who are constantly being asked to reaffirm, update, and prove their competency as professionals through tests, recertifications, and ever changing best practice and teacher standards. Into this environment along comes the Tech Integration Specialist whose job it is, in part, to expand teacher skill sets further. Music teachers, in particular can find themselves overwhelmed by the demands placed upon them and like the proverbial camel carting straw they feel as though they might break and their fears are not without merit.

Let’s consider for a moment the diverse skill set that every secondary music teacher needs at least some competency in to be effective in today’s teaching environment. The chart below starts with skills common to all disciplines before adding the skill sets required of the secondary music teacher.

In addition to all of these skills let’s never forget that music at the secondary level is oftentimes an elective course so the teacher’s very job relies on their ability to convince students, parents, and administrators to invest time and money into their subject.

Given these factors it is understandable that their is a certain amount of resentment when it comes to the implementation of basic Informational Technology skills such as:

• Notational software
• Sound editing and manipulation
• Blogger/Basic web design
• Digital image manipulation
• Cloud storage and Information dissemination

The question then becomes, how do we take overburdened music teachers and ask them to become fluent at yet another group of skills?

The answer to this question rests in passive adoption. Passive adoption is a method whereby the benefits of any new system are demonstrated to work and improve outcomes for the desired population while avoiding formal instruction and the demands for competency that lead to proactive interference. For example, if I want my fellow music teachers to adopt notational software I need to demonstrate its uses within the classroom environment during actual instruction. The technologist or teacher advocating for the new system advertises positive outcomes during normal social interactions with fellow teachers and passively offers to help others learn the new system. After one teacher has been taught the new system they can then be used to help teach others which eventually creates an overwhelming cohort of teachers with the desired skill set. Any teachers still without the new skill will now feel a sense of isolation and will be more receptive to more traditional learning approaches such as attending a class or seeking out help. This approach allows hesitant teachers to see and decide for themselves if they wish to adopt the digital tool being advocated without the technologist being seen as a force for unreasonable change. It also allows the technologist to authentically test and refine the skills being advocated and make a real determination as to whether or not they are of true relative advantage.

Perception Bias

“We are stock children.
We deserve technology!”

When we think about technology in school the picture that usually comes to mind is a student smiling for the camera in front of a computer or looking into a microscope. These stock images perpetuate our understanding of what proper technology usage looks like in the educational environment and what subjects are deserving of our tech investments in time and money when it comes to education. While this image is definitely beneficial to some courses it creates a mindset that students, parents, administrators, and some teachers adhere to which doesn’t leave a lot of room for technology in the music classroom.

The attitude of Music being a non-tech environment is particularly prevalent in programs that have a strong focus on applied music (Band, Choir, Strings) and not on academic music (Theory, History, Composition, Reflection). As discussed in THIS ARTICLE, academic music allows for the most useful integration of technology into the music curriculum while applied music remains largely unchanged despite some advances in recent years. In the typical applied music program students are allowed to choose one of the Western Art instruments and given music to play that reflects that tradition. In certain districts a jazz and/or marching band will be added to broaden students’ exposure to various musical traditions but little room is made for the popular music that students instinctively associate with the word ‘Music.’ In fact, many classically music teachers consider the promotion of Rock Bands, DJ/Mixing, R&B Rap, and other popular forms as beneath their notice and not worthy of study in the classroom.

These newer genres are heavily tech dependent and require specialized equipment and skill. Consequently, many music teachers simply do not have the time, in addition to the inclination, to learn how to properly teach these newer forms of music. Consequently, many students who chose to engage in music at the beginning of middle school drop out after they realize that their is no room in school for the music they listen and relate to according to musicparentsguide.com. Therefore, the question we must ask is how we can incorporate a broader musical experience for students that will also necessitate more technology without compromising the integrity of the traditions already in place.

The solution to this issue is not simple since the root of the problem is centered, again, on the amount of skills the average music teacher is expected to possess. We cannot reasonably ask music teachers to each become experts in the form, composition, production, and technological needs of every form of popular music. If we look at the average science department we see that it is made up of specialists in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. If we are to integrate a broader musical and technological experience for music students we must also realize that music teachers are specialists as well. Therefore, a balance must be achieved in any music program that has people with a variety of specializations in addition to the ensemble areas many music teachers are placed into. For example, if the strings teacher also has a fondness for R&B music then they should take it upon themselves to figure out how this area of interest can be usefully integrated into the music curriculum while the Choir teacher might focus developing units on DJ’ing. If we combine this distribution of skills across the department we could very well see a greater number of students staying with music well into secondary school as they are exposed to more and more musical traditions. Also, the adoption of a greater musical palette will undoubtedly require more equipment and tech integration that will naturally take place within the department.

Expense

Not a cheap date!

Music departments are expensive. A single instrument can be thousands of dollars and the performance of a single song can cost hundreds for the parts and score. These traditional expenses are further compounded by the price of the expensive sound equipment required to explore some of the more popular genres of music mentioned earlier. If we add onto that programs like Make Music’s Finale (a single copy of which can be as much as 350 USD/user) we can start to see why some schools choose to put their limited funds elsewhere.

In fact a meta study by A meta study by the National Association of Music Merchants just concluded and found that:

(NAMM, 2015)

Another study that looked at the cost of non-core classes like music found that it costs about 1,206 dollars to support a non core class vs 905 for support of core classes (Educationnext, 2015).

All of these figures add up to tough decisions that administrators need to make with regards to where available funds, and therefore tech dollars, go to.

Thankfully, a career of constantly advocating for music means that music teachers are well versed in how to work with people and help them see the benefits of investing in music. Contact with parents (and if possible music parents organizations) can help raise awareness and funds outside of the normal budget. Another avenue to overcome the budget hurdle is to create a very clear development plan of 3-5 year intervals which takes new purchases, maintenance, and operating costs into account. Such a plan can be presented to an administrator or school board so that the cost of improving music is not a constant struggle. It would also help to outline how new technologies would be used and the relative advantage they pose for student learning. All of this advocation is very difficult work that requires many different people around the district involved with the budgetary process to be involved but if a way forward can be found the benefits to tech integration into the music classroom can be fully realized. Consequently, the solution to the perception issue will then become self evident. As students, parents, and administrators witness the power of technology in music and see its positive results in student achievement and performance the myth that tech does not belong to music education will fade.

Round Up

I needed to use this image. Its awesome.

The integration of technology in the music curriculum is a necessary part of saving music programs across the country and ushering the discipline successfully into the 21st century.
It should never be said that being a teacher, much less a music teacher, is easy. We have seen the breadth of skill necessary to be successful and the ever present march of technology has only made the job that much more complex. However, by sharing the educational load and implementing some of the solutions presented here it is hoped that the transition of music into a technological powerhouse of the educational environment will become a welcomed inevitability.