Technology in the Classroom

Provocation is an appropriate word for the 2014 EduTECH talk by Professor Stephen Heppell(EduTECH talk by Stephen Heppell on teaching technologies on the cusp). Heppell’s closing statement that every child should have a mobile phone, even from the age of five, was born of his observation of the role of technology in the twenty-first century and his own granddaughter’s positive and creative use of the technology. For a person involved in academia, however, it seemed to ignore studies that question the educational effectiveness of technology and highlight the dangers of unsupervised access for children and young people to the Internet.

This article from The Guardian, Could Steiner schools have a point on children, tablets and tech? reports similar findings to that of recent studies of the educational performance of Australian students: 2016 Naplan results show that literacy and numeracy have flatlined

Even Heppell’s example from the music industry of the influence of technology could be questioned. While many musicians have embraced, if not conceded, that digital downloads and YouTube have denied them an income from their recorded music, the live music “experience” in the twenty-first century is also evolving. On one hand, there is the proliferation of devices at concerts. Take the time to observe the growing number of audience members preferring the small screen view to actually soaking in the performance with their own eyes.An adult example of the Childhood at Risk suggested by Steiner-Waldorf education, when the natural learning of children is replaced by technology.

(Source: https://uniquelytoronto.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/i_mother_earth_august_2014-croppped.jpg?w=830)

The importance of live performance to a musician’s income is also increasing pressure on opening hours and the resulting social and medical problems arising from prolonged alcohol consumption.

This is not to dismiss technology all together but its place in education has to be considered and effective. Of more significance for educators than a growing ownership and use of technology is Heppell’s fundamental question, “What makes for good learning?”

In the preface to Music Learning Today (2014), Bauer says something similar. “The decision on whether or not to utilise technology for learning, and the specific techniques that might be best suited for a particular learning context, should begin with a consideration of the curricular outcomes (music subject matter) (William I. Bauer, 2014. Music Learning Today: Digital Pedagogy for Creating, Performing and Responding. New York: Oxford University Press. Preface, page xii)”.

As Steve Collis, Director of Innovation at Northern Beaches Christian School suggested in video one, the use of technology should support learning. That is not to say that learning only takes place within the classroom. Music teachers, perhaps more than other teachers, know that learning about music is about being immersed in the subject matter and inspired and guided by a range of musicians and mentors in a range of contexts away from school. The music classroom is the context in which students can be challenged as creators, performers and audience members to develop reflective and critical thinking skills. Skills which expand their understanding and engagement with a wider world of imagination, cultural identity and the human condition. Experiences that will, in turn, foster the desired twenty-first century attributes of empathy, inventiveness, connection and storytelling, set out by Virginia Moller from Kamaroi Rudolf Steiner school.

Simply supplying the technology is not enough. The role of the teacher in a technology-rich classroom is as a guide and mentor, rather than as a keeper of information, as Natalie See from Hilltop Public School explained. The challenge for teachers is to need to know how to effectively design, support and evaluate the use of technology to maximise learning (Bauer, 2014, p, xi).

The Place of Music in Twenty-first Century Education

I have just begun a MOOC designed by Dr James Humberstone from the Sydney Con. which looks at the place of technology in music education. I am learning a lot that is relevant to both of my present school roles. It's important to draw out, from examples such as Northern Beaches Christian School, principles and pedagogical approaches that can be applied even when your school infrastructure and funding doesn't run to multiple JamHub studios and 1:1 devices.

What I have seen so far is the implementation of principles and practices set out in more general texts on technology in education, such as, Leading a digital school, Edited by Mal Lee and Michael Gaffney, and obviously the texts cited by Dr Humberstone, such as Music Technology and Education: Amplifying Musicality by Andrew Brown. I am also learning new terminology for old practices such as "setting the benchmarks for productivity and creativity". I'll leave you to work out what that means.

I know that may sound as if I don't think I have much to learn and that is far from the case. I have great admiration for Stephen Harris, the principal at NBCS, with whom I used to work. He has set a benchmark for educational innovation, especially the use of technology, but also in other areas related to learning, some of which have been covered in the opening videos. I am pleased to see what Brad Fuller and Peter Orenstein have done with the opportunities given to them and, so far, satisfied that I am moving - though somewhat more gradually - along the same trajectory regarding the use of technology. It is as important to be affirmed in what you are doing as it is to be challenged to be innovative in the way we meet students' needs.

What I do look forward to discovering, is ways to move into the Re-definition level of the SAMR model. So far, I would argue, the examples shown are really only replacing or augmenting older practices and experiences with technological substitutes. You might have other opinions.

(Image from Cathy Shrock's Guide to Everything)

If the SAMR model is new to you, then you might like to find out more about it here:

SAMR and Twenty-first century learning

In the meantime, I thought that I might brazenly take this opportunity to share something of my own work. This is a link to information about a teaching kit for the Song Cycle, Compassion by Lior and Nigel Westlake.Below is a link to one of many YouTube clips of movements from Compassion.

Compassion Teaching Kit