Significance of technology in today’s world and people’s lives
Technology tools provide enhanced methodologies to enhance our ability to share with others. As technology tools evolve, our interactions also evolve with one another. Whether considering a CB radio as a tool to connect to a social network, or passing a neatly folded, hand written note to our friends between classes as a rudimentary text message, the goal of our interactions is the ability to share our innermost thoughts and feelings with others. The students in our elementary and secondary schools will grow up in an age during which high speed wireless networks allow information transfer from personal electronic devices in a constantly connected environment. This constant connection has changed how we gather information, no matter if we are in an educational, professional, or personal setting. Dr. William Bauer notes in his book, Music Learning Today, “Moving between the virtual and physical worlds is natural for the younger generation; many spend a great deal of time online using social networking sites.” (p. 5) As educators, we must realize that the interconnected nature of learning through the free sharing of information in a relatively easy fashion demands a shift in how we use technology tools to engage, enhance, and support learning.
The role of technology in general education
The role of technology in general education should enhance the learning of the student, not be the entire goal of the learning. I have frequently shared an anecdotal story with my students about the development of a pen developed to write in a zero-gravity environment, at a significant cost. In the end, it was claimed that the Russians solved the problem with a very inexpensive replacement, the pencil. [The myth, debunked] If we use technology for the sake of technology, then we have not led our students to use available tools to expand their understanding. The Understanding by Design philosophy of instructional design places an emphasis on the “what” component of student learning. The concepts that we intend to teach our students must be considered first, not necessarily the methodologies we use to ensure that learning has occurred. If a specific curricular objective is facilitated in a more efficient manner, or with a greater student learning impact, through a technology tool, then consideration of that pedagogical strategy has value to the learning environment. The marriage of student learning and technology-facilitated collaborations have greatly enhanced opportunities for students to engage in music activities to create, perform, and respond to music.
Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) in music education
The challenge with student learning is to develop experiences that enhance the learning process for students in music education. Several models of instruction provide a framework for teachers to utilize in their lesson development process to fully integrate technology into the learning process. The SAMR model of technology instruction developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura codifies a plan which encourages teachers to move past the substitution of tasks through technological means to a model of instruction toward redefinition of learning goals to do what was not previously possible. Bloom’s Taxonomy was revised in 2001 to place creativity as the pinnacle of student learning outcomes [image]. The Texas Cultural Trust, developers of a curriculum for the Music and Media Communication course offered in some Texas schools this year, advocate use of the 7E model, which adds the “elicit” and “evaluate” contexts to the prior 5E model [article]. In each of these models, specific content [C] and pedagogical [P] knowledge [K] are necessary components for successful instruction prior to the addition of a technological [T] component. By integrating technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge into a framework for enhancing the learning environment [SAMR/TPACK Explained]. As educators, we all exhibit strengths and weaknesses in each of the TPCK domains, and as such, we must seek out strategies to strengthen our abilities to engage our student learning by learning from our colleagues.
Personal Learning Networks
By establishing a personal learning network, our instruction is informed by the sharing of best practices of a larger community of professionals with technology, content, and pedagogical expertise. By integrating these approaches into lessons and projects with our own students, the potential for enhanced learning for our students is increased. Personal Learning Networks include social media outlets, blog posts and news group outlets, whereby the information is aggregated for reading through tools such as Feedly, Google Reader, or other RSS readers. RSS feeds enable targeted information to be delivered to a digital inbox, rather than evaluating research or trade magazine for ideas to incorporate into learning activities. The PLN speeds the process for researching ways to enhance the student learning environment.