by Gertjan van Stam
Shoemaker, Kristin, van Stam, Gertjan, In: Proceedings of the WebSci10: Extending the Frontiers of Society On-Line, April 26-27th, 2010, Raleigh, NC, USA
A new educational environment is emerging within the field of applied music instruction. For the purposes of testing... more
A new educational environment is emerging within the field of applied music instruction. For the purposes of testing the viability of e-learning through the study of the piano, a unique relationship was established between a teacher in suburban North America and two students (currently ages 10 and 9) in rural Zambia.
Synchronous (real time) exchanges were initiated on a weekly basis through the use of a digital piano keyboard, a computer with Internet access, web-cameras, and video-conferencing software on either end of the connection. When the Internet connection was reliable, real time learning closely replicated traditional one-on-one music instruction in which student and teacher are physically in the same room. Synchronous communication was also investigated outside of individual instruction within group environments, in which the students joined with peers from across the globe in order to enrich the learning experience.
To supersede the poor audio quality of video-conferencing software between pianos, the participants of the study used Internet MIDI, a software application that enables two piano keyboards to control, synchronize, and exchange data electronically through MIDI technology. This technology made it possible to have a purely musical conversation within the lesson. To our knowledge, by participating in the beta testing of Internet MIDI, the participants of the study were among the first in the world to have access to such long-distance MIDI connections.
Real-time communication has many benefits, but because it is completely dependent on the quality of Internet connection, it can also be a frustrating experience if the connection is poor (e.g. audio reverberation, frozen video feed, dropped calls). Thus, it was necessary to seek an alternative form of communication – time-shifted learning.
In asynchronous (time-shifted) communication, lessons were exchanged between students and teacher via pre-recorded video, in which audio and video quality were not determined by the strength of the Internet connection. Once created, videos were posted and stored in password-protected albums on a variety of social networking sites. After the video was downloaded, the student or teacher could view it offline at a self-directed pace, pausing, rewinding, and repeating as many times as deemed necessary. Although positive, this form of learning can leave holes in the learning experience as it negates live interaction.
Due to drawbacks associated with real-time and time-shifted modes of e-learning when used in isolation, this study investigated the effectiveness of combining synchronous and asynchronous forms of communication within the learning experience.
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