Alan Anderson, School of Social Sciences, Southern Cross University, Lismore, 2480. Email: aanders1@scu.edu.au
Allan Ellis, School of Social Sciences, Southern Cross University, Lismore, 2480. Email: aellis@scu.edu.au
Music, videos, instruction, online learning, Web assisted learning.
A proprietary course management system, Blackboard(TM), was used to develop a Web-based unit for a group of music students enrolled in Southern Cross University's Bachelor of Contemporary Music program. The unit was unique in that it represented the first attempt made in the Centre for Contemporary Music to facilitate the teaching and learning of practical instrumental music skills via the Web. The unit featured instructional videos that were designed to supplement the resident drum teacher's conventional face-to-face teaching. Feedback from students was obtained through online forums, face-to-face discussions and a short survey. Students reported that the instructional video files were useful as stand-alone learning resources. In addition, they acknowledged the benefits of using these video files in the context of a course management system with compartmentalized supporting material and communication forums. Students were assigned the task of discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the instructional videos in online forums. This strategy proved useful to engage them in the subject matter and in the continuous improvement of these learning resources. The study revealed some evidence that the self-contained discussion forums and student Web page templates helped to foster a sense of community among the online learners as they interacted with each other and their teacher. All students involved expressed their support for the general concept of Web-assisted music teaching and learning, however, some also expressed concern about such innovation leading to reduced emphasis on one-on-one and small group tuition.
[ Full Paper ] [ Presentation ] [ Proceedings ] [ AusWeb Home Page ]