The subject matter of "teaching music in an online environment" was explored in
     the Distance Learning Curriculum Project for ETEC 649.

Catching the Beat Around the World
An Educational Website
CLICK HERE

Purpose: To create an educational Website that teaches multicultural children’s songs
    and games through an asynchronous online format.

Target Audience: Music specialists and classroom teachers.

NETS for Students:
1. Basic operations and concepts
    - Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of
       technology systems.
    - Students are proficient in the use of technology.
2. Social, ethical, and human issues
    - Students understand the ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to technology.
    - Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software.
    - Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong       learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.
3. Technology productivity tools
    - Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and
      promote creativity.
4. Technology communications tools
    - Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers,       experts, and other audiences.
5. Technology research tools
    - Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of       sources.
    - Students use technology tools to process data and report results.
    - Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations       based on the appropriateness for specific tasks.
6. Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools
    - Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed
      decisions.
    - Students employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in
      the real world.

Instructional Design Process for DL Curriculum (Dick & Carey Model)

Stage 1: Assess Needs to Identify Goals

    I would like to make available, multicultural children’s songs and games to a larger audience of teachers who would like to incorporate this type of activities in the classroom. Multicultural songs and games provide challenge to the senses, allow children to communicate with each other, and teach important things such as cooperation and focus. Musical elements such as rhythm, melody and harmony are reinforced.
    There is a need for professional development in the subject area of music, especially in the DOE. Having cutbacks of music specialist positions, the responsibility of teaching music falls on the classroom teacher. Many teachers do not have the time, access or funding to pursue development in this area. Or they feel uncomfortable or inadequate teaching music.
    I would like to fill the gap by providing an educational Website that teaches multicultural children’s songs and games. Through audio and video files, viewers will be able to learn how to sing the songs and play the accompanying rhythm games. Background information, lyrics and musical lead sheets will be provided so that the online learner will be equipped to successfully teach these songs and games.

Stage 2: Conduct Instructional Analysis

For each song and game, the learner will be taken through:
    - the cultural context and background
    - the pronunciation of lyrics
    - the learning of the melody
    - the motions to the song
    - the actual singing and playing of the song/game
    - the opportunity for assessment and reflection

Stage 3: Analyze Learners and Contexts

Target audience: classroom teachers and music specialists
Prior knowledge/entry level: have a background in teaching, possibly trained or have
    experience in music
Attitudes: looking to find new material that enhances and reinforces their curriculum
Motivational level: want to bring to their classrooms, multicultural experiences in the way
    of songs and games
Cognitive, physiological, affective, and social characteristics: Adults experienced in the
    classroom; trained in the art of teaching and learning; works with children

Stage 4: Write Performance Objectives

    Upon completion of each sub-module of the Website, the learner will be able to teach and demonstrate, with full understanding and skill, different multicultural children’s songs and games.

Stage 5: Develop Assessment Instrument

    Assessment in music is based on performance tasks. In this Website, assessment will mainly take place in a self-evaluative mode. The learner will evaluate one’s self by either playing the game with a video clip or singing along with an audio clip, located in the assessment section. A set of questions will follow the performance task. The learner then reflects how it went. If more practice is needed, the learner is then encouraged to go back to past lessons.

Stage 6: Develop Instructional Strategies

Learning activities incorporated into the Website will include the following:
    - read about the background and cultural context of each song and game
    - visit other sites on the subject
    - learn the pronunciation by echoing word phrases from an audio file
    - learn the melody by singing phrases from an audio file
    - sing along with an audio file
    - learn motions in parts with a video file
    - perform motions non-stop with a video file
    - sing and play game with a video file

Stage 7: Develop & Select Instructional Materials

    Media utilized in this Website are audio and video files. The advantage of using these types of files is that the learner will be able to actually hear and see the songs and games in action. The nuances of sound and movement captured in these files will aide the learner to easily learn the song and motions. It is really difficult to explain movement with text only.
    A concern that might arise is the downloading of the video clips. Depending on the internet connection, there is the possibility that viewers might experience long waiting periods for the video clips to download.
    I plan for the Website to be asynchronous and self-provisional, without much facilitation from me.

Stage 8: Design & Conduct Formative Evaluation of Instruction

    Potential testers I plan to use are music specialists and classroom teachers, individuals that use music in their profession, video production specialists, Web designers.

Stage 9: Design & Conduct Summative Evaluation

    I would think that feedback I get from teachers who have used the site, would give me an indication if the gap had been filled or not. The feedback would include if they were able to learn the songs and motions, and then in turn, teach these songs and games to their students. The final indicator that this site would be successful is that the students are able to sing and play the games, and have fun doing them.

Revision (All Stages)

    I built the site in the same format that I teach the songs and games in lessons with my students. I started with the background of the song, taught the pronunciation and melody, then the motions. Since this site is a work in progress, I will probably make future revisions and improvements. So, at this time, no revisions or improvements were made in the process.

Personal Reflection

    Up to a couple of months ago, I did not think that teaching music could successfully take place in the distance learning environment. In most cases, visual assessment, immediate feedback and instructional adjustment is necessary in teaching music. As we explored newer technologies, I began to think that there could be possibilities with audio and video files embedded them into Web pages.
    As stated in the Revision section, I decided to approach this project the way I teach multicultural songs in the classroom. I recorded the pronunciation and song through audio and the movement through video. What will still be missing, though, is the immediate feedback to see if the learner is actually learning the song and motions correctly. One possibility would be is to have teleconferencing take place. I would have to explore that venue in the future.
    I would like to work on beefing up the assessment section. Finding out from the learner, what worked and what did not. Again, more feedback.
    I am excited about the potential of distance learning reaching a larger audience. And that music, can be taught in an online environment.