Music Ed Tech 4U Podcast

In this episode, Brad and Carol share some reflections about the ways they have had to think about organizing and planning their online lessons, classes, lectures, and resources for students. The important factors underlying the emergence of COVID-19 are discussed, with reference to the way that teachers need to use similar communication approaches on a weekly basis, to provide both forecasting and predictability to the students, while also ensuring they get material out to their students early, so they can then follow up with other needs of the learners as they inevitably arise during the week. A request for other teachers to share their insights is also mentioned. @musicedtech4u and www.musicedtech4u.com  

In this podcast, Carol and Brad reflect on the recent TMOHE virtual conference hosted in Melbourne, and share a range of different reflections and takeaways from the event, discussing how the experience enabled a range of global perspectives and research initiatives, combined with authentic teaching practices to be shared. They highlight how the virtual space allowed for rich, engaging interaction across different time zones, experiences, for both music educators and non-musicians. They talk about the way that by being forced to transfer their proposed in-person conference to an online experience, the authenticity and reality of the keynotes, workshops, Q and A's, and papers were all enhanced.  

In this episode, Carol and Brad talk about the development of the original idea for a realtime conference about Teaching Music Online in Melbourne last year, and then how the advent of the COVID-19 scenario saw it move to a fully flipped, online - virtual experience for many delegates around the world using ZOOM as a format. In this interesting chat, they talk about the design, purpose and thinking, and how they looked to realize the online event successfully through the integration of various types of activities for the delegates. In particular, they talk about the way the conference created a momentum of its own, seeing people joining continuously over two days as researchers, teachers, and musicians shared different views and perspectives.

One week out from the inaugural http://www.teachingmusiconlineinhighered.com/ conference, the conveners, Dr. Carol Johnson and Dr. Brad Merrick talk about the event and share some of the things that will be happening. Have a listen and try to get along to the inaugural online conference for Teaching Music next weekend, wherever you are around the world. #TMOHE. Make sure you register and join in, wherever you are, teachers, musicians, everyone is welcome. 

In this discussion, the two creators of the MusicEdtech4u podcasts and series, discuss some of the simple 'Aha' moments that have resonated with them, as they have been constantly working in the 'Online' teaching space. Using a series of reflections, they share some simple strategies and approaches they have taken note of, and even at times, had to remind themselves about. Teaching online is not perfect in any way, but it also means you need to be a risk-taker and try new things continuously as you try to meet the needs of the students. Enjoy this chat. 

Carol highlights the importance of predictability in learning. For example, as you shift to the online classroom, predictability can help decrease student anxiety. Listen to this episode as Carol explores how to use video announcements and Thursday/Sunday discussion postings to help students experience predictability in their weekly learning.

Starting with the question “How can I provide my students with more effective means of feedback for their performance assessment?" Carol outlines how she has shifted to implementing the use of video feedback. With video feedback, students can now see and hear feedback ideas which can promote better student understanding of assessment comments to inform their progress and purpose as they move forward.

In this episode, the two creators of this series, Brad Merrick and Carol Johnson chat across the city (online) about the way that teaching online in the virtual space has made them reposition their thinking and practice. This is the first of a series of weekly discussions where they chat about and reflect on, some of the many issues related to shifting their teaching and some of the strategies and challenges involved. Worth a listen, particularly if you are thinking of how to reposition your own teaching approach during COVID-19. We look forward to your feedback and hope you enjoy the episode via @musicedtech4u 

In response to questions from a number of teachers and students, this episode talks about some important, yet often forgotten areas in your performance, such as the way you set up in the room, the location of the device, the time of the day, amount of storage and height of the technology can impact the outcome of the performance. Here, we want to help you get the best sound you can, using the available equipment that you have access to at the time. In this podcast, there are some basic tips and strategies about preparing for the recital-performance process (whether doing a live-stream, or recording for upload), which includes things like testing dynamics, expression, loud and soft sections, as well as doing a trial recording and listening back to sections of the program on the best sound system you have. This podcast tries to share a range of tips, drawing on experience from many years, in order to get the best from the recording device you use. We hope these simple tips help you, whether using a mobile phone, a tablet, your computer, or an external mic-camera for our performance. Again, a little bit of preparation can make a lot of difference to the final product. 

This Podcast explores the importance of having audio devices connected before using sound and also discusses the differences between using a local (on your computer- Audacity/Garage Band) or virtual (online-Soundtrap) software, and the differences that are experienced as you try to monitor your performance while creating backing tracks. Suggestions around using the metronome, turning headphones, on and off to assist you and ensure you stay in time are mentioned in this episode. Issues with Latency in the online recording experience are referenced in relation to approaches to monitoring sound in an effective way to assist you with your instrumental-vocal instruction.