BYOD AND ONLINE LEARNING (Week 11)

In Week 10 we did not have class as it was Special Projects Week, so in Week 11 we discussed BYOD/online learning. This means to "Bring Your Own Device" - where the class engages in the lesson by by having their own device that they can complete tasks on. This devices (computers/tablets etc) could vary from student to student.

When I was in high school, students were all given the same computer and can be swapped around if it breaks down - this is the opposite of BYOD where instead they are provided 1:1 devices.

Of course, there will be pros and cons to both learning systems.

Regarding BYOD, every student's financial situation will be somewhat different. Some students may not be able to afford an expensive device and vice versa, meaning it's not entirely fair. This would require teachers to be very flexible with their teaching strategies as certain music software may not be compatible on all devices.

Provided 1:1 devices has it's advantages as every student will have equal opportunities to learn. However this can be very expensive for schools to provide such technologies for each individual student. However, although convenient for students, it may not be entirely convenient for a teacher. For example if a teacher is used to a Mac system but the school provides Windows laptops.

Therefore, it is up to the teacher to ensure they are flexible with their IT skills, and to select music software that are the most compatible with most devices, as well as the program still being simplistic enough that students can understand what they are learning. For example, web-based programs could be more flexible for students to work with.

James gave us four web-based programs that are fantastic for students:

• Ir 808.com

• Soundation

• AudioTool

• BandLab

In groups we took a look at each program. My group looked at Soundation and came up with the following points:

• Combination of different sounds, can manipulate these sounds using effects like EQ, delay, reverb, distortion. Can use samples to create loops

• Also supports audio recording

• Uses virtual instruments, can connect MIDI keyboards

• Offered free premium subscriptions to students over the Covid pandemic, to ensure student creativity was maintained.

• Layout seems very similar to SoundTrap

• It can’t be used on iPads, tablet and mobile devices

• It says it prefers you use Chrome, and you need to connect to internet

• Unfortunately the program updates and changes the visual format frequently, making it slightly difficult to stay up to date with the latest version

• The program also doesn't save your work automatically, so when there is a glitch or it crashes

• You can also drag across sounds from Ableton straight into Soundation where you can open up a collaboration project (this is cool!)

• Can also export into midi.

I am excited to potentially use some of these programs in my own music teaching someday!!