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Computational Creativity: AI and Machine Learning in Music 

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Computational Creativity: AI and Machine Learning in Music 

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Music education is largely based on human interaction and traditional techniques centuries in the making. AI can certainly enhance the music education experience with computer accompaniment and performance feedback programs.

Performance feedback AI was one of the first tools many teachers jumped to when our classes went virtual in 2020. Apps like SmartMusic and PracticeFirst listen to a student’s performance and provide a percentage for accuracy. These tools are helpful to students in self-led learning but only provide limited feedback to students and lack suggestions and differentiation strategies that a live teacher would have.

One of my biggest concerns with AI as a music classroom teaching tool is the detrimental effect it has on students' mental health. According to the AACE Review, technology addiction and higher stress levels have been found in children who spend excessive time with technology gadgets Also, the nature of music education lends itself to the development of perfectionism and feelings of low self-worth, especially when the music created by a student is so unrealistically graded by the machine.

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Computer accompaniment was first developed in the 1980s but is still not widely used in music practice and performance. This technology is similar to speech recognition in that the information input is an acoustic set of pitches that the computer then must recognize and estimate how fast to continue the accompaniment. It could be useful for developing players to hear the other parts of a song even when the tempos don’t match up.
“Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Music Understanding”, Dannenberg, 2000, https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rbd/papers/sbcm2000.pdf

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Repertoire with the Soul of Musicality: No More "Accompaniment Tracks"

Curated for advanced string and wind players, from high school students to conservatory faculty and career soloists, each Cadenza Live piece is a well-crafted musical experience that evolves over performances. Beyond the "body" of the professionally produced accompaniment, each Cadenza piece has a "soul" of the deep musical understanding powered by sophisticated musical artificial intelligence fine-tuned by professionals.

Contact us View current repertoire

Live Performances

Introducing Cadenza Live Accompanist - the orchestra that follows you

About Us and Our Timeline

The research behind Cadenza started since the 1990s with multiple National Science Foundation (NSF) funded projects conducted by the current MetaMusic team members at University of Massachusetts Amherst and later at Indiana University Bloomington to serve conservatory-level musicians at the Jacobs School of Music. With the generous support of these academic institutions, MetaMusic acquired the core technology for further development to bring the joy of music to the audience at all levels. Here are a few milestones that have played a pivotal role in MetaMusic's history.

Conservatories

We've partnered with some of the most prolific and innovative conservatories around the globe, bringing musical education and AI together to assist young musicians in their journey to virtuosity.

Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University Bloomington

Bloomington, IN 47408

The IU Jacobs School of Music (JSoM) is one of the most comprehensive and acclaimed institutions for the study of music in the United States. Cadenza is originally known as 'Informatics Philharmonic', coined by Mimi Zweig, professor at the Jacobs School of Music and director of the Summer String Academy. Cadenza has been adopted by many faculty and students in the Jacobs School of Music for teaching, practice and performance. The app has been embraced by the IU String Academy through a regular concert each year in the summer program for the last decade, featuring a full program of students who rehearse and perform with the computer-generated orchestra. JSoM students including Yoo-jin Kim, Marcus Scholtes and Samantha Johnson-Helms have incorporated the app into their recitals, adding an orchestral dimension rarely heard at such events. The app has been employed in numerous master classes, public demonstrations, and teaching scenarios with a variety of faculty including Mimi Zweig, Otis Murphy, Mark Kaplan, Howard Klug, Brenda Brenner, Arnaldo Cohen, and Jeff Nelson. Finally, the technology has been used in new music productions of the works of Jan Beran in otherwise unplayable compositions.

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College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), University of Cincinnati

Cincinnati OH 45221

The Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music has widely employed Cadenza, especially through the teaching of Kurt Sassmannshaus in both private instruction and master classes with students ranging from graduate to pre-college level. Through Prof. Sassmannshaus, Cadenza has been integrated into the Great Wall Music Academy in China, where it has been used extensively in their violin competition.

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Department of Music, North Carolina State University

Raleigh, NC 27695

The Department of Music provides educational and performance opportunities for student and community participants through a variety of musical experiences and academic courses. The department also serves as a cultural resource for the university and the greater community through performances and presentations offered by our students, our student/community groups and by our faculty. The Department of Music provides a responsive and innovative music education to all NC State students as an essential expression of the human experience.

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Central Conservatory of Music

43 Baojiajie, Beijing, China

Founded in 1950, the conservatory offers courses to both Chinese nationals and foreign students, and caters for all levels from primary up to postgraduate programmes. Undergraduate programmes of four or five years are offered in composition, conducting, musicology, voice and opera, piano, orchestral instruments, and traditional Chinese musical instruments; there is a six-year middle school with courses in piano, orchestral instruments, traditional instruments and music theory.

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Central Conservatory of Music Affiliated Middle School

Beijing, China

The Middle School affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music is the key secondary specialized school on national level that is directly under the leading of Ministry of Education, PRC (formerly under the Ministry of Culture, PRC). The School includes six-year middle school program and three-year elementary school program. The majors include keyboard instruments performance, orchestral instruments performance, Chinese traditional instruments performance, vocal performance, basis of composition and musicology. The MetaMusic team visited the CCoM Middle School in May and Nov 2018 to present the Informatic Philharmonic system to its superintended, faculty and students - the performance level by CCoM Middle School students is comparable to the Interlochen in the US. MetaMusic team was very impressed by the young talent and the dedicated music teaching/administrative team at CCoM Middle, and had been providing support for rehearsals and performance with live orchestral and piano accompaniment, software tools for checking intonation, individual music content creation for CCoM afflicated middle/primary school students since then.

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Department of Orchestral Instruments, Xinghai Conservatory of Music

Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China

Established in 1932 as the Guangzhou Conservatory of Music by the legendary violinist and composer Ma Sicong 馬思聰 (1912-1987), who was later appointed the president of the newly established Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing by the government of the People's Republic of China in December 1949. Both the Xinghai Conservatory of Music and the Xinghai Concert Hall are named after the noted composer Sinn Sing Hoi or Xian Xinghai 冼星海(1905-1945). Info Phil team visited the Department of Orchestral Instruments, Xinghai Conservatory of Music in late 2017 and presented an open rehearsal attented by the faculty, administrator and students from the department. The system received overwhelmingly postive feedbacks by faculty and students and a Music AI and Info Phil Joint Lab was officially launched in May 2018 at the department for daily teaching, practice and live rehearsals.

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Department of Orchestral Instruments, Sichuan Conservatory of Music

Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

Founded in Autumn 1939 as the Sichuan Provincial Experimental School of Theatre and Music, Sichuan Conservatory of Music(SCCM) has changed into its present name in June 1959. Currently, SCCM has become one of the largeest higher education institutions in China with over 400 professors and associate professors and a student body of over 14,000 in 126 majors in 31 departments including music, fine arts, dancing, mass media, theatre, movie ﹠ TV etc. SCCM has two campuses - one located beside the Jin Jiang River of 20 acres, and the other in Xindu district of 167 acres.

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Download and rehearse like never before!

Cadenza Live is available for Mac and iOS in English, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Korean, Japanese, French, Italian, German, Russian, Greek, and Finnish.

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Cadenza® Live Accompanist: The Orchestra that Follows You

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Practice and perform classical music with the Cadenza Live app on your Apple devices. Choose to rehearse your Dvořák cello concerto with a full orchestra, play first violin on Schubert's Death and the Maiden, or run through your Poulenc Flute Sonata with skilled, responsive piano accompaniment.

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Thanks for your connection of AI to music.  I think this is an example that most people don't think of when it comes to AI and it's possible uses in school settings.
-Hannah Lawrence

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The Cobb Teaching and Learning System:

You can personalize the homepage to fit each class need.

Calendar feature to help students keep track of assignments .

Digital sessions to group material and lessons into smaller chunks.

Resources provided by district and teacher can upload.

Student uploads organizes student work into portfolio to help with organization.

Assignments is where students can find all the assignments they have due.

Discussion page allows for informal collaboration.

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Working together in music: Student Collaboration Resources

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Working together in music: Student Collaboration Resources

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Soundtrap- https://www.soundtrap.com/

Sharing/ adding AUDIO files together.

Music Notation Software:
Noteflight- https://www.noteflight.com/
Flat.io- https://flat.io/

Sharing compositions and allowing others to add their own ideas/ instruments.

Canva- https://www.canva.com/

Working together to connect music with the arts and other disciplines

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Take, Leave, Transform! What Do We Keep from Last School Year? - NAfME

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Robby Burns challenges music educators to think about how to transform old teaching methods by adapting what we have learned this year.

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The 4 basic coding concepts I kept coming across loops, debugging, sequences, and algorithms can all be transferred to music education and things that I already teach!

Loops act like repeat signs in music.

Debugging is achieved through self reflection and critical listening.

Sequencing and algorithms are our sheet music that we read.

I was surprised and excited to make these connections to concepts that are so fundamental to my curriculum already!

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Scratch incorporates creation of art centered projects which include the ability to play as part of the creation as well. I like the colorful and simplified approach to allow exploration of coding sequences and instructions. Makes teaching and learning coding concepts much more possible in a music class!

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Once the basics of coding are introduced, students have a choice of Python or Java Script to create their songs.
Great tutorials and information!

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Uses the Ruby coding language, but requires a Raspberry Pi starter kit.

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Experience the sound of code.

Sonic Pi is your free code-based music creation and performance tool.

Powerful for professional musicians and DJs.
Expressive for composition and performance.
Accessible for blind and partially sighted people.
Simple for computing and music lessons.

Learn to code creatively by composing or performing music in an incredible range of styles from Classical & Jazz to Hip hop & EDM. Free for everyone with a friendly tutorial.

Brought to you by Sam Aaron and the Sonic Pi Core Team.

Sonic Pi lets you use simple code to turn your computer into a fully networked live coding music studio:

Multi Channel Audio In/Out

Well-timed MIDI In/Out

Well-timed OSC (Open Sound Control) In/Out

Ableton's Link network metronome built-in

Sonic Pi is a new kind of musical instrument.
Watch how you can use it for live performances from ambient sets to dance music in nightclubs...

Sonic Pi Band - Sam Aaron & Ben Smith

Reeled - Jylda & Sam Aaron

Daft Punk - Aerodynamic
coded by Sébastien Rannou

Join the friendly Sonic Pi community and share your ideas and thoughts with other educators, musicians and live coders...

Sonic Pi in the

Sonic Pi was specifically designed for and built in collaboration with teachers for use in the classroom.

Classroom Ready

Sonic Pi was designed, implemented and developed with extensive classroom trials in close collaboration with teachers.
Introduction for Teachers

Engage your students by coding music in your classroom today.

Sam Aaron, creator of Sonic Pi, has written this book to
complement the built-in tutorial.

Master live loops, code drum breaks, compose your own melodies make random riffs and loops, learn to shape and sculpt sounds and much, much more...

"Sonic Pi lowers the barrier to entry for a creative experience with code..."

Music. Code. Simple.

See how easy it is to get started coding your first sounds...

What are you waiting for? Get yourself a copy of Sonic Pi for:
Windows macOS Raspberry Pi OS

What's Happening with

Here's a taster of some of the exciting things happening in the Sonic Pi world...

Sonic Pi was an Education Partner for Convo, an ambitious new work at the Royal Albert Hall featuring 1,000 young instrumentalists & singers combining traditional instruments & code.
Watch the performance here

Sam Aaron performed with Sonic Pi at Moogfest 2016. Rolling Stone featured his performance in their review of the festival and said it "transcended the present".

Sonic Pi was an Education Partner for Convo, an ambitious new work at the Royal Albert Hall featuring 1,000 young instrumentalists & singers combining traditional instruments & code.
Watch the performance here

Sam Aaron performed with Sonic Pi at Moogfest 2016. Rolling Stone featured his performance in their review of the festival and said it "transcended the present".

The Sonic Pi: Live & Coding project has launched a series of 10 "Pop Pi" music videos created by artists using Sonic Pi.

Get Sonic Pi for

Get started on the world's most affordable computer.

Built for Raspberry Pi

Get the latest version of Sonic Pi for your Raspberry Pi to take advantage of all the new features such as MIDI, OSC networking, new translations, improved interface, headphone audio and much, much more...

Terminal Installation

As an alternative to the double-click installation, you can run the following commands via the terminal (within the directory you downloaded the deb file):
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ./sonic-pi_4.4.0_1_bullseye.arm64.deb

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Get Sonic Pi for

Turn any PC into a full Sonic Pi workstation.

Built for Windows 10 &amp 11

Sonic Pi has been developed and designed to work perfectly on laptops and desktops running either Windows 10 or 11.

MSI Installer

Sonic Pi is available as a signed MSI installer for you to securely install on your machine or network.

Getting Sonic Pi running on Windows is as easy as 3, 1, 4...
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Get Sonic Pi for

Use the full power of your Mac to take Sonic Pi to the next level.

macOS - Apple Silicon

v4.5.0 for Macs with Apple M1 or M2 chips

Requires Ventura
(macOS 13)
Mac with Apple chip

Securely Built for Apple
Intel or Apple Silicon?
There are two versions available to download. Apple Silicon for newer Macs powered by M1 or M2 chips and Intel for older Macs.

See "About This Mac" for your chip type.

Using macOS 10.15 or below?
Download previous releases here

macOS - Intel x64

v4.5.0 for older Macs with Intel chips

Requires Big Sur
(macOS 11)
Mac with Intel chip
Most Common

Getting Sonic Pi running on your Mac is as easy as eating Apple Pi.
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live coding music code programming learn teach

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Sonic Pi is a new kind of instrument for a new generation of musicians. It is simple to learn, powerful enough for live performances and free to download.

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How AR and VR are changing the music industry

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How AR and VR are changing the music industry

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This article introduces many AR and VR applications within the music field. Many applications are ones that I have already seen in media like 360 degree scannable environments, VR music based games, and filming through an AR lens with filters. One aspect of music production this article fails to mention is the need for recording equipment in a music studio. There is mention of a VR music studio but no mention of equipment outside the VR headset used.

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Written by WiNSS Scholars Matt DeCesare & Homer Wang

Music is an experience. Consumers and makers of music now demand more and more immersive and interactive experiences, which has prompted an urgent call for innovative designs, models, and technologies. These innovations can take on many forms, including online programs, offline services, and physical products, but in this article, we aim to explore only those of the mobile digital features that existing or future mobile applications could consider implementing based on technology like Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).

Some of the trends happening to music streaming and related technologies are evolving due to the demands of mediated-and-live music. While live music is borne to its situational real-time presentation context and its engaging elements, mediated music refers more commonly to the channels and means of its distribution, through which sounds are transmitted over various media, generally not in real time, and often with significant production processing. The newer genre of mediated-and-live music aspires to integrate both advantages simultaneously, reaching a broader and younger audience, while maintaining an immersive and interactive experience. This trend lends itself well to new technological integration, such as AR and VR, which can enhance the experience of music by targeting music consumers who crave the "best of both worlds" ( live and mediated). Social media is often used for music streaming. Mediated streaming of festival music increases around the festival period; live festivals direct the flow of audiences to use social media and streaming services, and post-hoc evaluation generates ongoing revenue streams to recorded music (Danielsen & Kjus, 2019).

Streaming technology has appeared in multiple forms and has expanded over the past decade, helping to increase user interaction and immersion with music. The most well-known streaming services in the United States, Spotify and Apple Music, are known mainly for providing subscribed users with a wide range of available and streamable music. Additionally, both services provide music video access and have exclusive deals with certain artists that allow users to access additional content. Furthermore, Spotify provides more social features as well. It allows its users to create shared playlists that they can add to with friends, and shows a stream of activity from a user's friends, such as what music a person has listened to recently. Other apps, such as NetEase, China's premier streaming platform, and Gaana, India's most popular streaming platform, are also helping to push streaming technology forward.

While most publicity in music technology goes towards promoting services like Apple and Spotify, other lesser known services are pushing the industry into VR and AR technology. Some of these companies have used virtual reality to integrate music with gaming. Intone (https://www.wearvr.com/apps/intone) allows users to control their surroundings by making noise into a virtual reality headset. The user can look at different areas on a screen, and that area will be manipulated based on the type of noise the user makes. Rock Band, a popular game that allows players to play well-known music on instrument-like toys, has also released a version compatible with Oculus' VR devices. Audioshield is another game similar to Rock Band, where players hit notes with their hands to play a song of their choice.

In addition to the above examples, other companies are using VR and AR technology to promote music promotion, discovery, and creation. The best example of this occurs on YouTube, where popular artists have begun to post music videos with a 360-degree scannable environment. Pop artist The Weekend's The Hills remix feat. Eminem (A Virtual Reality Experience) , is one of the most well-known examples of this. The video currently has over 2.5 million views. Other popular VR videos include Marshmello x Crankdat - Falling To Pieces , with 1.9 million views, and Gorillaz - Saturnz Barz (Spirit House) with 15 million views. Clearly, VR technology has presented artists with a unique way to share their content with fans. Another company pushing the envelope is VRTIFY. VRTIFY is focusing on connecting artists, venues, and music labels with their audiences using holographic, VR, and AR technologies. Current partners of VRTIFY include Lolapalooza, an American music festival with a maximum attendance of 400,000, and heavy metal band Metallica.
Virtual Reality and the Brain
Dr. Giuseppe Riva has explored the capabilities of VR technology, and how it might provide a stimulating experience via the Predictive Coding hypothesis of the brain. The Predictive Coding model suggests that the brain maintains an internal model of the body and the surrounding environment to reduce prediction error and real-world surprises. The creation of this model involves the reactivation of multimodal neural networks that have produced the expected effect before. Thus, stimulating a particular experience can involve reactivating groups of neurons, whose summation recreates that experience. VR technology operates extremely similarly to the Predictive Coding hypothesis of the brain. The technology creates an explorable simulated world, maintaining a model of the player's body and the space around the player, exactly as Predictive Coding expects that the brain does. Since, according to Predictive Coding, human experience is effectively a summation of all of these simulated experiences, there is belief that VR has the capability of altering bodily experience by designing virtual environments targeted towards evoking particular sensations (Riva).
Virtual Reality Designs for Music
The potential for VR to completely change the way music is both consumed and created is enormous. By simulating intense concert environments, or placing users in a recording studio, VR can provide someone with a fully immersive music experience from their living room.

The first design we propose is a complimentary concert service. If, according to Predictive Coding, human experience is an internal simulation of the body and its surroundings, a correctly applied VR experience of a concert might provide someone with the exact feeling of being front row at their favorite artist's concert from anywhere in the world. We propose that 360-degree sensors and cameras could be placed in the front row of live concerts, allowing consumers to live-stream the concert with a VR headset and experience the action in real time. This, of course, would only be able to occur with a co-sign from the artist whose concert is being streamed. Why would any artist agree to take fans out of their crowd and back to their living rooms? This experience would not be free, but only available to ticket holders, similar to the live concert itself. Take Billy Joel, whose concert at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL on January 10 th , 2020, sold front row tickets for $811. Rather than only selling a small quantity of these front row tickets, additional front row VR tickets could be provided at a cheaper price, say $75. This would generate revenue for the Hard Rock Hotel and Billy Joel, while allowing fans who may not have the time or the money to attend the concert in person to still get an authentic experience. To make the experience more authentic and social, everyone who purchases one of these VR tickets could be placed in a live virtual chat room with other VR ticket holders as they watch the concert. Now that social distancing orders are in effect and the landscape of large audience events is on hold (at least for now), one could also imagine that this could be the future of immersive music experience for even more reasons.

The ideas above could be joined with AR technology for an increasingly immersive experience. In addition to attending the concert in VR, AR capabilities could provide animated effects such as fireworks going off on stage, changes in weather conditions, or even changes in the artist on stage themselves. Take Travis Scott concerts as an example. Travis Scott is known for building amusement park rides on stage, such a roller coaster that stretches over the crowd. The VR ticket holders at the Travis Scott concert might not only see the roller coaster, they could experience it, as well as an entirely AR-generated amusement park in full swing surrounding the entire concert.

Lastly, VR technology could be utilized for music creation. Rather than having to purchase expensive instruments, speakers, and other equipment needed to record music, a VR program could simulate this experience through a virtual recording studio. Similar to the VR games mentioned above, such as Rock Band, where players are given toy instruments, a VR recording studio could allow full capabilities for someone trying to make music. This type of technology could completely change the way music is made.
Augmented Reality Designs for Music
So how could AR affect our musical experience? Professor Anne Danielsen at the University of Oslo and colleague Inger Helseth expressed their concern to the diminishing form of liveness onstage as mediated technologies have become quintessential for presenting music that can stimulate both visual and auditory perceptions (2016). Any discrepancy between these two sensory dimensions could be mitigated by focusing on the genre and context of the music being performed, or else the visual effect has to direct the audience's attention back to the auditory effects. In simpler terms, having something like AR could not only enhance the mere experience and fun of the music being presented, but also mobilize additional senses, such as touch.

Apps that associate themselves closely with live music events, such as mobile ticketing agencies and info-display apps created for certain theaters and events, could install real-time venue- and event-related AR. This AR feature would allow people who currently have the app to scan their surroundings and make certain mascots and special effects to appear on their mobile device before, after, and during the show. This could direct the audience's focus to the event or the venue related to the music being presented, but it could also engage the audience's interest to a set of useful information. For instance, when pointing the activated device to the stage before the show, a Star-War-ending-like introduction of the show could be provided to the audience. An additional feature that could enhance the user's music experience through AR would be to allow the users to record videos and pictures through an AR lens in the app with other special effects appearing alongside the actual performance (eg. snowflakes flowing in the air in a Christmas concert).

Second, for music creators, whether amateur or professional, apps could integrate AR as an ideation tool. For instance, based on the creator's surrounding color schemes and patterns, the app could generate a tailored range of sounds using computer vision algorithms. The AR display on the user's mobile device could show the recommended notes; if the user touches them, those notes would play, allowing users to immerse themselves in a world of origination and imagination. Similarly, other underlying traits of a real production setting, including the weather and time of the day, could also be taken into account by the app when suggesting the notes. As creativity boosts productivity, apps with the capability to install an AR interface should aim to increase musical creativity by allowing an open flow of ideas, interactions, and possibilities.

Third, music entertainment apps that target end consumers could also employ AR alongside object identification technology to increase audience engagement. Take Spotify as an example where it could have such a feature. If you point your device's camera to an object- say a window- you could hear an addition of window glass shattering to the song being played. In turn, the AR display would also animate this additional sound effect. This natural sound incorporation could apply to a variety of household or workplace objects, animals, symbols, or even people.
A Conclusion
We strongly believe that VR and AR technology has the potential to entirely alter the way music is streamed, discovered, and created. Already existing services, festivals, and venues such as ticketing app StubHub, streaming services like YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music, and Snapchat, and AR capable communication apps, could serve as partners and launching pads off of which our proposed ideas could be promoted around the world.
References
Danielsen, A. & Helseth, I. (2016). Mediated immediacy: The relationship between auditory and visual dimensions of live performance in contemporary technology-based popular music. Rock Music Studies, 3(1): 24-40. doi:10.1080/19401159.2015.1126986.

Danielsen, A., & Kjus, Y. (2019). The mediated festival: Live music as trigger of streaming and social media engagement. Convergence-the International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 25(4): 714-734. doi:10.1177/1354856517721808.

Riva, Giuseppe, et al. (2019). Neuroscience of Virtual Reality: From Virtual Exposure to Embodied Medicine. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 22(1):82-96. doi:10.1089/cyber.2017.29099.gri.

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The Use of AR and VR to Change the Future of Music - Wharton Neuroscience Initiative

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Music is an experience. Consumers and makers of music now demand more and more immersive and interactive experiences, which has prompted an urgent call for innovative designs, models, and technologies.

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This CMU project shows mapped and real time instructions for playing piano!
https://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/music-everywhere/#

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0:00 / 1:49•Watch full video

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Researchers discuss some interesting points about best practices when implementing new technologies in the classroom.

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Intro: Hello AMT-Lab Listeners. This is Ashley Anderson Kowach, Chief Technology Manager of the Arts Management and Technology Laboratory. On today's episode of the AMT-Lab Podcast Series I sat down with Alyssa Wroblewski and Lydia Killian, two contributors to the AMT-Lab platform, to discuss their research on emerging technologies in music education. Enjoy!

_____________________________________________________________________________

(Intro Music)

Ashley Anderson Kowach: I'm here with AMT Lab contributors Lydia Kilian, and Alyssa Wroblewski, who are focusing their individual research on technology integration in education.

Welcome, Lydia.

Lydia Killian: Hi Ashley. I'm a first year Arts Management student here at Carnegie Mellon. I'm interested in the arts education space, and I'm doing research on how to integrate technology into music education, specifically looking at student assessment through technology and really customizing the learning experience.

AAK: Great. And I'm also here with Alyssa, Alyssa Wroblewski. Hi, Alyssa.

Alyssa Wroblewski: Well, hello there. I am also a first year MAM and I have a background in orchestral operations and personnel. And my research topic is on VR and funding it for educational spaces.

AAK: Great. Thank you so much for joining me today to talk about your research topics.

And let's just get in. I'd like to start by getting a brief overview from each of you about your individual research tracks. So, Alyssa, you're focusing primarily on funding and availability of VR technology in schools, correct?

AW: That is correct.

AAK: Alright. And, could you briefly walk us through some of what you have found so far?

AW: Okay. So, some of my primary research has just been getting to know VR, in general. I had a chance to head over to Sorrells library at Carnegie Mellon and try out some of the VR equipment over at their office hours. And it was just a fun way to just explore and try out the Tilt Brush or Beat Saber, like a couple of the video games there or even just explore around Google Maps and their 360 video angles. So that was a lot of fun. So, what I had to do was take this information that that I gained within VR, figure out other way, that other ways that it's been currently being used in schools and education. And to try to figure out if there's other ways, other than grants, that we can fund VR. And over all, I think what I'm doing for my final research right now, is trying to justify the cost of VR, especially in terms of other technologies that are currently available in schools, such as smart boards, iPads for every student, or laptop carts. So, I'm trying to justify not only how we can fund VR, but how cost effective it can actually be, and the implications for how it will be useful in education.

AA: Okay, great. Thank you. And Lydia, likewise, you're researching various available technologies that music teachers can employ for their students. Could you tell our listeners about a few of the technologies that you've found so far?

LK: Sure. So, in my research, so far, I've come across four major kind of buckets of technology. So, the first one is apps. So, there's a lot of types of apps that music teachers can use, they can help with creating assessment for the students and also customizing their learning experience. So that is at the level they need to be at. So, some of those are Note Rush, Flashnote Derby, and Rhythm Lab. So those work on finding pitch, or rhythms within the music. There's also ones that you sightseeing, or help to enhance learning other skills. Another major category is AI technology. So that would be through the program Smart Music, and more recently, I've started looking into another program called Tonara. And these two programs use AI technology to detect pitch and rhythm when a student is playing. So that helps to create instant feedback and it can also be sent to the teachers so that they can help create more accountability when they're away from the student, and helping with their... really to encourage them to practice more during the week.

Another interesting type of technology is wearable technology. This one I don't think would be quite as easily applicable, but it's interesting to know about and could be something that takes off in the future. There is one program called the Music Jacket, which a student can actually wear and it gives that (inaudible) tactile feedback as they're playing. So they can know if they're bowing correctly, and help them to create like the best technique as they're learning an instrument.

AAK: Great. Thank you.

AW: If I can just interrupt for a moment because I noticed within your particular article that you mentioned Smart Music, and this was actually something that we used in our music department, whenever we would have performances called Promenade. This was back over the at music department at Mansfield University in Mansfield, Pennsylvania. And every Thursday, we would all gather together to have individual performances or soloist, or chamber groups, anything that a student happens to be working on. And, every once in a while, there would be say a horn player, any brass anyone player, unfortunately, this doesn't work as well for string instruments, but it would be accompanied rather than by a piano by a program called Smart Music instead. And, basically smart music would be able to follow along with the soloist in real time. And it would... almost sounds like the piano was right there playing, like the pianist was right there playing along with them. But so, it was one cool way to actually see that in action.

AAK: That's cool.

LK: Yeah, there's a lot of different ways that that the program Smart Music can be used. So, for a company, also to just break out individual parts, if you're in an ensemble to hear, you know, who might be having a problem and also putting parts together when students working on their own, but it's for an ensemble piece, allowing them to practice with the other parts, if they're not there; kind of like you were saying with accompaniment. So, there's a lot of interesting ways to integrate that, I think, into the classroom.

AAK: That's really cool. So, Alyssa, this next question I have is for you, but it is based off of something that Lydia mentions in her paper. So, I'm glad that you brought something else that you noticed in, because we'll just stay on that theme I guess. Lydia talks about how the practical application of the technologies is going to hinge on an educator's understanding of those technologies and how best to incorporate them. So, for VR in the classroom, especially in areas where funding will be a major factor in the ability to obtain VR in the classroom, what do you see is the best way for teachers to gain the knowledge or experience to make this an effective tool?

AW: Oh, goodness, let's see. I would say it is difficult to fully understand VR, unless you try it out for yourself personally. And this was the experience that I did, within the library for sure.

I would say that unless a teacher has the means to try it out for themselves, to get a feeling of what exactly the VR technology is going to be like that it's otherwise going to be difficult to incorporate into the classroom. In a lot of cases, actually, there are some programs that are pre- available that are pre-built for classrooms. So, most of the time, if a teacher is able to bring that into their classroom space and bring it into their curriculum, then the program is already there, and students will just be able to simply try it out, simply explore around. But of course, the teacher needs to get involved as well, and to really like, get in there and understand the program and figure out like, how the students will interact with it, how the students might potentially break the program.

AAK: So, are there any like, in your research have you found... Are there any sort of, I don't want to say conferences, but any kind of conventions maybe, that would be for this new space in education, where technology and education are overlapping? So that teachers can get like a hands-on experience or like tutorials, or how to best utilize these things in their classrooms. Because I'm seeing this, if this is a growing space, that might be something that either already exists or might need to exist in the future for teachers to get the training that they need to make these effective educational tools. Otherwise, it's, it's a gimmick.

AW: I have to be honest with you, I have not seen that appear in a lot of my research. And the reason for that is potentially... well, because I might be missing that in my research, but also because they may not quite exist yet.

AAK: Yeah.

AW: There is one part of my research that I did find, and this was brought up to me when Kamal Sinclair came to visit and speak with us regarding some of the VR applications that she's using to help out with different programs. The one panel that she appeared on, and you can find this on YouTube, actually, this panel is called the Games for Change. This is more along that gamification, and using video games and inspiring social justice, inspiring change and inspiring

technology building...I would have to do a little bit more research on it, to be honest with you. But that was one thing that I did come across that certainly teachers might be able to look into, and maybe grab a few ideas from there.

AAK: Great. Thank you. So, Lydia, kind of the same format, as far as the question goes, it's something that I recognized or found, and Alyssa's paper. So, she's recognizing in her paper, that availability of technologies will be dependent on the school's ability to purchase VR. And maybe the best approach would be to have more of a communal lab instead of individual sets for each student. What do you suggest would be the best approach for public school music teachers to access some of the technologies that you've identified?

LK: I think there's some interesting examples, which I'm going to elaborate more on in my final paper, of some schools that have partnered with some technological companies like (inaudible) and they've created like a keyboard lab, which uses very small keyboards that are not very expensive, along with iPads to help students learn how to play the keyboard, and then hopefully... I think the teacher that was presenting the programs said she hopes her students will eventually use Garage Band to compose and that it's kind of like a platform to really build their music skills off. And there's other examples of how some schools have been able to use these resources to build these labs up. So, I think maybe those sorts of facilities in schools that can have those resources, could work as like a community center for other schools to learn from to provide trainings.

One of the big things is that I think a lot of teachers don't know how to incorporate technology into the classroom, because apps are not very expensive. There's a lot of ways you can do that. A lot of most, a lot of places have smart boards, and you can incorporate that. I'm also looking into more digital instruments like a MIDI controlled guitar, which is only like $200. And you could just purchase one and then use it in a classroom. But a lot of the... one of the biggest barriers is kind of like you and Alyssa were talking about earlier, not having the professional development, and then the knowledge and the confidence to start integrating those into the lesson. So, I think that is one of the biggest things that school districts or nonprofits could really help to, help in integrating this technology and is just through professional development and really connecting these teachers with the knowledge to integrate these technologies into the classroom.

AAK: Right. Now, I'm very curious to know whether or not these professional developments exist. I want, I want to find out. So yes, Alyssa.

AW: If I may. You know, it's interesting, because something that just popped up in my research as well, in comparing a lot of the current technology that's appearing in classrooms versus some of the very affordable music technology that you talk about in your paper. Some of the technology you mentioned, like may cost around like, say, 200 - 300 dollars, whereas with smart boards... one smart board alone can cost from it 2,000 - 5,000 dollars. And you are lik... we've been starting to see that in every classroom space in public schools. And institutions like Carnegie Mellon. So, that can add up to quite a bit very quickly. And you're talking maybe about a one-time purchase of 200 - 300 dollars for one student like...even though like that could add up, there's still so much technology costs that do not cost a lot, but still adds such an amazing benefit, like smart boards do.

LK: Yeah, and I think one thing I am focusing on more, as I, in the final part of this research, is just how the technology can create a more customizable experience for each student. It's hard for one teacher to 30 students to really meet each student where they're at in the learning process. And so that $200 per student, and maybe not even that, can really provide

a more personalized experience allowing them... to allow the teacher to be more effective in the classroom. It can really be a strong resource for the teacher and the students.

AAK: Great. So, you both have kind of actually already answered this question, but just to sort of round it out. Are there any other resources that you're discovering in your research that could be helpful for educators that are interested in moving into either of these spaces? Aside from what you've already mentioned?

LK: I would say there's, there's a lot online, there's a lot... like one, like we already mentioned one downfall is there don't seem to be that many... that much emphasis on technology integration, in terms of professional development. But there are a lot of teachers that are spearheading these initiatives. So, I think just learning from best practices. There's a lot of blogs that just have information on apps, you can use the national, the national... the NAM - E

AW: The National Association for Music Educators,

LK: Right. So, their website has a lot, there's a great info-graph, of why to use technology and people writing, teachers that are currently teaching in the field, writing about how they've successfully integrated these technologies. So, I think, just really taking it upon yourself to do that research, and then following best examples, connecting with people in the field. And then hopefully, eventually, there will be a more systematic professional development space for teachers.

AW: Yeah, and the more like, we make those connections, and the more we head towards the future and more technologies develop, then the more that we can implement them in classrooms and head towards a brighter future because...

AAK: Right, so basically, it's just recognizing that there needs to be more of a need for it, for there to be more people wanting to...

LK: I think also...

AAK: Or vice versa...

LK: realizing the benefits of it...

AAK: Yeah,

LK: Is that a lot of people think that... think of technology, this was kind of me going into the research, thinking of the technology as using a way to engage the child. Like, I think of apps and kids, I you know, I, I teach music, and I see my students with their apps coming into, before their 30-minute lesson, they're using their iPad, and then they get done and they go wait for their sibling, and they go back on their iPad. And so, they're just like attached to this. They think, "Oh, well, they, they're motivated by that". And so how can you use technology to do that. But I think it goes beyond that. And just looking at how it can enhance the goals of the teacher and the goals... like really defining what those goals are, and seeing how it can mean, how technology can enhance that and allow the teacher to better achieve those goals.

AAK: Well, thank you. That's all the questions I have. Are there any other last comments that you care to give our listeners before we sign off?

LK: No, this was great. It's interesting to hear about VR, because that is one area I haven't explored, having gone through this like range of different technologies. VR is the one that I didn't really look into, so I think it's interesting to hear your perspective of integrating VR into the classroom.

AW: It's certainly interesting. It's very new in the educational space for sure, and it is going to definitely grow. And we're predicting that it's going to expand. There's even a quote by Dr. Skip Rizzo, that it's going to be "as commonplace as a toaster is to a household".

AAK: In the classroom?

AW: VR the classroom, yes. Like in that comparison sense and in general. Like Dr. Skip is talking about, like VR in the house, in the household. But if it's becoming like this commonplace in the household, then imagine what it's going to be like in the classroom.

AAK: Right. And if you think back, well, if I think back to when computers were first brought in, they were definitely more in the educational space than they were as a home computer. So, I can see maybe VR going that same route, potentially, where it's the... it's recognized for its educational power first, and becomes so ubiquitous in that sense, that it then becomes what we... if our kids are using this as a device to learn in the classroom, then they need that device at home to continue that learning. So, the that's an interesting, interesting way of...

AW: Oh, yeah. And it certainly develops too. I mean, I remember like, back in the day when I was in high school, when they first introduced laptop carts to classrooms, and then every student will be able to take a laptop, bring into their desk and work on whatever they need to work on. Yeah. And now from what I understand that has actually transformed into it, back in my old high school, like that's transforming to every student is assigned a tablet or an iPad with a pencil of some sort. And then teachers are able to use online forums to assign them homework and students can turn in their homework that way. So, it's interesting to see like how that's developed. And it will be interesting to see how it's going to further develop with VR, with all sorts of other technologies, like especially in the music and arts classrooms.

AAK: Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much. This has been great.

AW: Not a problem!

LK: Thanks Ashley

_____________________________________________________________________________

Outgoing Message: Thanks for listening to the Arts Management and Technology Lab podcast series. You can read more the intersection between the Arts and Technology at www.amt-lab.org, or you can listen to more interviews and discussions and our podcast series on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play or Stitcher. Thank you for joining us.

(Outgoing music)

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Implementing VR and Emerging Technologies in Music Education - AMT Lab @ CMU

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In this week's podcast, join Ashley Kowach , last year's podcast producer, as she interviews past contributors and current staff members Alyssa Wroblewski and Lydia Kilian on ways technology can be implemented in music education programs. Topics discussed include virtual reality , apps, and weara

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Blooket is a great way to engage students in learning through review games. It is similar to Kahoot in that teachers can create a custom set of questions or browse sets made by other educators. I have used it for test review and end of year review. Once you have the question set and start the Blooket, the game begins. Students are incredibly excited and engaged with Blooket activities. You can also have students create the question set to help reinforce concepts even more.

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Musescore is a downloadable software for music notation. I like the accessibility to professional level notation software and the searchable database for songs written using the program. It can be used by teachers to create music exercises that can be displayed on the board at the front of the room or by students to create their own music. Students benefit from being able to see the notation of teacher created exercises clearly and also to direct their own learning by finding music in the database that fits their interests and playing levels.

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Why MuseScore?

Professional music
notation software

Completely free,
no limitations

Transfer to and from other programs via MusicXML, MIDI and more

MuseScore is built by an open-source community

Supporters

3499 comments
in the last 30 days

Developers

44 active contributors
in the last year

Translators

69 languages
1289 translators

MuseScore is used by schools, conservatories, choirs, orchestras, ...

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Free music composition and notation software | MuseScore

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Create, play back and print beautiful sheet music with free and easy to use music notation software MuseScore. For Windows, Mac and Linux.

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I have seen Book Creator in a number of Padlets this week which got me thinking: how can I use this in my own classroom?

Allison recommended it as a way to inspire creativity in a summary exercise or as an end of term project, both of which I could imagine in my class.

I have linked a blog post detailing uses in the classroom and am excited to make a musical ebook with my music classes in the fall!

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(Image credit: Book Creator)

This Book Creator tips and tricks guide is here to help you utilize ebook creation in your class in an effective and creative manner.

At its core, Book Creator (opens in new tab) is a free tool that allows educators and their students to create multimedia ebooks based on class assignments and topics. The app's self-publishing ebook format empowers students by allowing them to take authorship of the material they learn in class.

But given Book Creator's robust functionality, there are more ways to utilize ebook creation in the classroom than educators might initially realize.

1. Use Book Creator to Create an "About Me" Book

A great way to get your students used to using Book Creator and to have them learn more about one another is to have them create an "about me" page using the app. This can include a short bio and photo, for starters. Students can also add audio and video components to their page letting more of their personality shine. Ultimately, the various student's pages can be combined into one "ebook" about the class.

2. Use Book Creator for Student Stories, Poems, and Written Projects of all Kinds

This is maybe the most straightforward use of the app, but it's an important one. Students can use Book Creator to write, illustrate, and add video audio recordings to their written work. A response to a reading can be part written and part visual. Or students can write a poem and then include an audio clip of themselves or a classmate reading the poem. By the end of the semester they can create a book of all their written work, complete with a table of contents, cover, and title.

3. Use Book Creator to Teach Math and Science

Book Creator's uses extend beyond English and humanities classes, The app can provide a great way for students to organize thoughts and show their work in math and science. Science students can write (opens in new tab) or record their predictions before testing a hypothesis, then compare and contrast results. They can also take notes on the experiment and track it with visuals. For math, they can use it to create math riddles (opens in new tab) .

4. Use Book Creator To Produce Musical Ebooks

Because of Book Creator's recording abilities, there are many ways to utilize it in music class. An educator can write out music and have audio recordings embedded for students to play along with. More advanced music students can use it along with recording apps such as GarageBand.

5. Use Book Creator to Make Comic Books

Comic books are a popular template on Book Creator and can be used to tell stories and/or share work in a variety of topics. From graphic novels to step-by-step guides to various stories, students can have fun creating work in this visual medium.

6. Use Book Creator to Support SEL Lesson Plans

The tool is well suited to supporting SEL objectives (opens in new tab) . Students can create books, comics, etc., to be collaborative and learn team building. Or they can interview members of their communities and share these interviews in Book Creator. They can also use the app to create and track thoughtfulness and other SEL goals.

7. Use Book Creator's "Read to Me" Function

The "Read to Me" function on Book Creator is one of the app's most versatile capabilities. It allows users to have the ebook created on the app read to them in various languages, while highlighting the word being spoken. This can help early readers learn to read, or provide an opportunity to practice proficiency in English or a foriegn language.

8. Use Book Creator to Support Accessibility

Brook Creator has many tools that can help support different learners. The Read to Me function can help those who have difficulty decoding language. The ability to embed video within the ebook can provide sign language translations. In addition, having each student record a video of them signing a portion of the book is a fun way to teach students sign language. Using the app educators can control aspects such as font size and colors to meet the individual needs of learners.

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(Image credit: Book Creator) This Book Creator tips and tricks guide is here to help you utilize ebook creation in your class in an effective and creative manner. At its core, Book Creator (opens in new tab) is a free tool that allows educators and their students to create multimedia ebooks based on class assignments and topics.

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Key Takeaways on pg 4.

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0:00 / 2:14•Watch full video

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By 2019, the World Bank's PRIEDE project had exceeded several of its goals. Aiming to improve Kenyan students' base math skills, it had distributed over 3 million textbooks, appraised nearly 30,000 teachers, and its national student information system had registered 96 percent of all students nationwide.

But in 2020, the program requested $9 million more to rollout a teacher training campaign. Halfway through, it had recorded a 2.5 percent decline in the grade 2 math skills it was trying to improve, having omitted to train educators on how to use the new resources effectively. The decline was eventually recovered but the project ultimately concluded that distributing materials had almost no positive effect on learning outcomes.

A Major Problem

It is notable that even in 2020 the World Bank introduced targeted teacher support only after a key indicator declined. More concerning is that it's not an isolated case.

Teachers are consistently under-prepared to incorporate tech tools into their classrooms. Governments and development organizations have financed material distribution without similar investments in training educators on how, when and why to use these tools. In 2020, only 10 percent of Kenyan teachers were using the more than one million laptops distributed through a Digital Literacy Program between 2016 and 2018.

Rwanda, an African edtech leader, plowed on with the (formerly) UN-backed One Laptop Per Child initiative without explaining how teachers should work with them. And U.S. schools regularly pay for tools but not for educator training.

Although it's vital for true results, teacher training is often neglected due to its relatively high cost, time commitment and hard-to-measure immediate impact.

Survey after survey shows educators' deep dissatisfaction with the amount of support they receive, especially when it comes to integrating technologies into their classrooms. The Promethean State of Technology in Education UKI Report found that over 64 percent of U.K. educators were dissatisfied with the training they received; only 15 percent believed they had received satisfactory training in edtech.

Bart Epstein, CEO of the U.S.-based EdTech Evidence Exchange, sees it as a major problem, especially given that more schools are using technology following the pandemic. "Too many schools think the cost of training and professional development and support are optional," Epstein has told EdSurge. He adds that schools might spend $125,000 for a license, but decline the $25,000 training package offered along with it.

Scaling and modernizing training schemes, when they are implemented, are also a challenge. "Legacy teacher training in the U.S. is outdated," with little hands-on learning, says Taylor Chapman, partner at the higher education investment fund SEI Ventures. "This is a key area for innovation." Some companies are beginning to emerge but many of them offer simple online certifications that are overall of low quality.

Teachers Want Solutions

"Before the pandemic, one of EdTech founders' greatest challenges was engaging teachers with digital tools," said Thiago Rached, founder of Brazilian writing-improvement tool Letrus, at the LATAM EdTech Show. This also cropped up in our interviews with Chinese teachers in early 2020 about the shift to remote learning. But "that's completely changed. The pandemic got teachers to understand there's no way back from tech and that it can help them in many ways," Rached says.

Teachers are eager for training opportunities. Initially worried about how to incentivize educators to attend training sessions, Misan Rewane, the co-founder of West Africa Vocational Education (WAVE), noted how enthusiastic educators were about the initiative. "Teachers generally want to do a good job, they just don't have a lot of time," she says.

Kiko Muuo, founder of Kenyan teacher training and STEAM platform Angaza Eliwu, had a similar experience with his firm's own services. "We had a training over Zoom where teachers stayed for 4.5 hours. They had no incentives to do this, they were buying their own mobile data to be there, struggling through connectivity issues."

Training follow-up is a big demand. "We thought initially this would be just six weeks," says Muuo of Angaza Eliwu's standard training course. "But teachers reached out for continued follow-up," so the firm set out to provide it through weekly calls. "They see actual progress in their classrooms, which motivates them to keep using the platform and go through the training program."

WAVE saw a similar trend. "Educators were kept engaged through WhatsApp groups and sent videos of themselves teaching post-training," says Rewane.

What's Next

Edtech firms relying on teachers and tutors to support their business models often take a highly personalized approach to training. Startups like GoMyCode, out of Tunisia, or Kibo School, which works with learners in Africa, teach coding and tech skills, and source tutors directly from their own alumni pipelines. While this does not attempt to solve the broader problem, it does address the specific need for teacher training on a particular platform.

Other edtech firms target teachers directly by providing classroom analytics-and teaching them to use these tools. TeacherFX, a Brighteye Ventures portfolio company, hopes to improve teachers' performance and the student experience by offering real time classroom analytics to help teachers curate their best teaching style. This helps teachers self-reflect and adapt to their students' preferences, but only when educators know how to use the analytics. Used by over 2,000 teachers, Singaporean startup Doyobi offers video lessons, a custom-built virtual environment to use in class and content like quizzes to make teacher's online sessions more interactive.

"Teachers are underpaid and overwhelmed," explains Nader Shaterian, founder of the digital creation space School Fab Labs. Even if teachers have the tools available to improve their pedagogy, they are unlikely to be impactful in the long run unless they are easy to use.

Areas for Innovation

Hampered by bureaucracy, teacher training can be a difficult space to break into, but three areas offer promise.

First, improve teacher's resource-sharing opportunities. "A space where teachers can share their methods and experiences drastically boosts educational outcomes," says Anuradha Handa, principal of GD Goenka Public School, a private high school in Delhi. Many governments invested in sharing resources for teachers during the pandemic but these were largely confined to the school or regional level. One company trying to change this is Colombia-based Coschool, which allows teachers to upload their own materials for other educators to download for free or a fee.

A second opportunity reimagines training delivery methods using emerging technology. Mr. Shaterian is most excited about virtual reality, as existing teacher training models are human-based and therefore hard to scale. Eight years ago, School Fab Labs created a successful model "to train teachers and observe them in action with the kids," he says, adding that the future could look very different with emerging technology. "VR headsets would change everything, I'm a true believer in that sector."

Finally, tools that free up teachers' time would allow them to focus more on students. Educators' heaviest time burdens include lesson planning as well as creating and grading assignments-yet few firms target this issue, explains Rhys Spence, head of research at Brighteye Ventures. Working with 15 schools, ChalkTalk built a fully adaptive, highly personalized curriculum-design technology to reduce teachers' lesson-planning time from 2.5 hours to 10 minutes. Launched late last year, EdQuill similarly seeks to help teachers save time by automatizing grading and more easily share content en masse (although their target users for now are tutoring centers).

As the Kenyan PRIEDE program has shown, teacher training is essential for helping students learn with edtech. As investment continues to pour into the sector, investors should pay particular attention to how educators are engaged and ready to maximize the tools-and how they're being trained to use them effectively. After all, teachers can work without tech, but tech in schools simply can't work without teachers.

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Teachers Aren't Getting Enough Training on Technology. It's a Global Problem. - EdSurge News

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By 2019, the World Bank's PRIEDE project had exceeded several of its goals. Aiming to improve Kenyan students' base math skills, it had distributed over 3 million textbooks, appraised nearly 30,000 teachers, and its national student information system had registered 96 percent of all students nationwide.

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5 things we can do to help struggling teachers 

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5 things we can do to help struggling teachers 

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5 Tips to Help Teachers Who Struggle with Technology

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Guest blogger Josh Work, middle school teacher and Marine Corps reservist, talks about teachers who struggle with technology and offers five professional development tips that can bring staff up to speed for school-wide technology integration initiatives.

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Each of the topics we learned about in this course brought up some new ideas and perspectives for me regarding technology in education, and specifically my field of music education. I was most interested in learning about how virtual and augmented reality could be used in music classrooms but have not really been encouraged with what I found. The idea of integrating augmented reality and music has been around for almost 10 years but implementation has been sporadic to say the least. There are some exciting applications of AR and VR to the music industry at large but it seems like this is a budding field that I want to watch closely for when it becomes more accessible for my classroom.

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A post about potential uses of Augmented Reality Music Education to enhance individual practice time. Includes links to past research on the subject and potential success for a project like this.

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As I prepare to start my PhD, I thought it would be fun to openly explore some of my ideas for research to see if I actually like them. One of those ideas is Augmented Reality Music Education. In other words, a project that merges some of my personal interests like gaming, education, and music.

Table of Contents

Core Idea

If I had to sum up Augmented Reality Music Education (ARME), I would say that the core idea is in the name. In other words, I would like to create some form of supplemental music education which leverages augmented reality.

Of course, the idea is more nuanced than that. At the moment, I imagine ARME would be a video game that ran on equipment like the HTC Vive. With the game launched, users would practice their physical instrument while various data elements would overlay the instrument.

For example, let’s say ARME is developed for guitar. Then, I would imagine the headset would overlay the instrument with information like fingerings, strum patterns, chord accuracy, tuning, tempo, etc.

On top of data visualization, ARME would also have gaming aspects to it. For instance, I would imagine ARME would support achievements. In addition, there would need to be a social aspect to the game to add some level of competitive or cooperative play.

In essence, ARME would be a complete music education system—not just a fun gimmick.

Inspiration

As I’ve already stated, the idea for this project comes from my interests in gaming, education, and music. Of course, the project is more selfishly motivated than that. After all, I just want to build a tool that will help me learn how to play guitar.

Currently, I play trombone. While it’s a great instrument, it’s not entirely practical in an apartment. Instead, in my free time, I like to play around on my guitar. Unfortunately, I’m not very good, and practicing alone is pretty boring. With an Augmented Reality Music Education system, I would be able to take my hobby to the next level.

If a system like ARME went on to help others, that would be a bonus. In the end, what use is this research if it doesn’t benefit someone other than myself.

Existing Research

In terms of research, I’ve found a ton of papers covering areas around Augmented Reality Music Education:

So, it’s not like I’d be jumping into uncharted territory. After all, these papers have citations of their own that I can trace back for more information.

Risk Assessment

In order to evaluate risk, I’ll be using the SMART framework : Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Oriented. For each section, I’ll give the project a rating out of ten before averaging the score for an overall assessment.

Ultimately, I’d like for my ideas to have scores as close to ten as possible. Of course, I won’t sweat it if they don’t. I’ll just scrap the idea or refine it later. At any rate, let’s check out the breakdown:

Specific (5)

While I believe the topic is very specific, the plan of attack is pretty amorphous. In fact, the scope of the project is incredibly large. It may make more sense to focus on a specific area of Augmented Reality Music Education like presenting and tracking sheet music or instrument data visualization.

As I read grow more familiar with the field, I’ll be able to more comfortably focus my idea.

Measurable (6)

One of the struggles with this type of project is measuring its effectiveness. In other words, how well does Augmented Reality Music Education improve a student’s X? For example, X could be any of the following:

Learning Rate

Enjoyment

Performance

I believe all of these areas could be measured with this type of project. That said, the challenge would be acquiring enough students to get a large enough sample size.

Achievable (7)

Overall, the project has a lot of moving parts. Here’s a small list of the areas this project would cover:

Music

Audio Processing

Music Tracking

Education

Motivational Techniques

Curriculum Development

Game Development

Competitive/Cooperative Play

Object Tracking

Virtual/Augmented Reality Graphics

Of course, this just scratches the surface. A project like this will likely have to go through several prototypes before anything of real value will be created. In other words, ARME has a lot of associated risks.

That said, I’m comfortable with the amount of research currently in areas at least tangentially related to the topic. And, I’m excited that this topic is relatively new.

Relevant (10)

To be honest, I believe ARME is extremely relevant. It seems technology continues to advance, but the way we teach music has largely stayed the same. Of course, I could be totally off-base, but I find that technology hasn’t really been integrated with music education.

Time-Oriented (4)

With a project of this scope, I think that I’d have trouble putting it together in a reasonable amount of time. We’d probably be looking at two years of development before we could even collect any meaningful data. In other words, the scope will need to be reduced before ARME becomes practical.

Overall Assessment (6.4)

Overall, I give this project a 6.4 out of 10. That said, the project code benefit from a reduced scope. I’m just not sure which areas I’d like to pursue yet.

At any rate, thanks for taking the time to learn about some of my ideas for potential PhD research. If you liked this article, don’t forget to share it with your friends. And if you have any advice or feedback, let me know in the comments.

Journey to a PhD (44 Articles)—Series Navigation

As my current career trajectory shifts away from engineering, I find myself in a peculiar position as a PhD student. As I explore the latest concepts in Computer Science, you can find that journey documented here in my series titled Journey to a PhD.

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Augmented Reality Music Education | The Renegade Coder

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As I prepare to start my PhD, I thought it would be fun to openly explore some of my ideas for research to see if…

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This post was written in 2020 but this field is still just starting to scratch the surface of its potential applications and accessibility. I'm looking forward to what comes next in the future of Augmented Reality!

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Ever realized that the way people enjoy music is always evolving? As a matter of fact, it apparently always follows the trends and technology which were invented!

In the late 17 th century, for example, people experienced the first music concert ever in several European universities. Now, music concerts are developing along the way with more immersive technologies to enjoy.

Fast forward to today, we see that the development of musical technology is getting more intense. Now, artists and singers are looking for more technologies to complete their musical experience. And... augmented reality is one of the possible answers!

How does AR change the way we perceive musical experiences? Well, just sit tight and relax, as we'll give you coverage about it. Check them out!

1. Music concerts & festivals

We all know that singing along and jumping energetically to your favorite artist's songs in the concert is already more than fun. But, how about combining these experiences with a visual that becomes a feast for your eyes? 👀

You might wanna see this legendary U2's Experience + Innocence concert in 2018.

Apparently, they incorporated augmented reality during the opening, in which Bono sang and appeared on the stage. Yet, the fans who held their phones could see Bono in a much larger form on the top of the crowd. It surely does thrill them, doesn't it?

Meanwhile, music festival also doesn't want to be left behind. The 2019 Coachella surprisingly turned one of its stages into a magical AR land. By pointing any on-the-go devices into the stage, people could see a real-time space-themed experience above them. It's another feast for your eyes. 😉

However, we know that the music industry has faced a problem recently. Due to the pandemic that's happening around the world, the trend of a live concert is decreasing.

But... thank God, there's AR! This technology allows you to have a musical performance from your favorite artist in your own home.

No, you're not reading it wrong. It's real, and it's happening.

The Changcuters, a rock-and-roll band from Indonesia, brought the virtual AR concert experience to their fans. As the first-ever Indonesian band who had a virtual AR concert, The Changcuters wanted people to feel their stage presence anywhere, including from their homes. It's also a way for them to promote their latest single in the midst of the pandemic.

Well, apparently, they're killing two birds with one stone!

2. AR music video

Imagine you're watching a music video, but it's actually shot in the form of AR technology. Well, the fun fact is, it's already happened.

Let's take an example from John Mayer's Heartbreak Warfare music video in 2009.

Claimed as the first-ever AR music video, Mayer was actually the one who proposed the idea to create this innovative video.

Using a marker-based AR, people can scan it and enjoy Mayer performing the song in front of them. Obviously, it's a new way to jam along with your favorite artist's video, which unbelievably looks real! 😉

3. Music marketing

Creating successful and viral marketing has to be meticulously done. It also has to be unique and creative, so that people can relate to your product.

Marketing the music also works the same way too. And we believe that AR can be applied to promote an artist's workpiece as well.

From posters, album packaging, or advertising your products - everything can be done with AR!

Sam Smith, for example, made use of AR recently to promote his latest single Diamond on Spotify. People can simply scan the QR code on Smith's song cover using another device, and they can see Smith dancing on the top of it.

And not to forget-music posters can be fun too. Check this example out from the late Michael Jackson's album entitled Michael Jackson Scream in 2017.

People who bought the album got a bundle, including a scannable AR exclusive poster. By scanning the poster using their devices, they could see a spooky visualization from MJ's face that matches a Halloween concept.

4. Music learning

Want to learn musical instruments, but you've got no tutors?

Chill out! AR can be your tutors.

Nowadays, the development of AR music learning application is real. One of them who has successfully launched the application is Music Everywhere.

Through this app, you can learn how to play the piano or keyboard with AR. Just simply point the camera on your device into the musical instruments, and there'll be blocks appearing to help you play along with a musical piece.

Simply put, it's like playing Piano Tiles, but with a combination of technology and reality. Cool, isn't it?

Anddd... that's it about our coverage! For our team, these are just the beginning of AR development in the musical industry. And we believe there'll be more to unveil!

Later on, probably you can watch concerts casually from your own homes with more immersive visualization.

Or maybe there'll be Sungha Jung as an AR hologram, teaching you the fingerstyle guitar technique. 🎸

Well, whatever the development is, we're just excited to see more cool stuff happening in our music industry with AR. Let's patiently wait until the day comes! 😎
In Assemblr, we believe that all people - including you - can create and present your own AR experiences. With an easy-to-use application, Assemblr empowers people to implement AR in any occasion. Interested to unveil more possibilities of AR? Download Assemblr now, available in App Store and Play Store!1

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How Augmented Reality Can Be Implemented for the Music Industry

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Ever realized that the way people enjoy music is always evolving? As a matter of fact, it apparently always follows the trends and technology which were invented! In the late 17 th century, for example, people experienced the first music concert ever in several European universities.

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These are some great tools for extension, review, or social- emotional based lessons in any classroom!

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(Image credit: Discovery Education 2022)

Sign up for our daily edtech news briefing today, free.

It is hard to believe that by 2025, the global population will be comprised of 2 billion Generation Alpha members — kids born between 2010 and 2025 — who are on track to be the most technologically infused generation to date. These students have never known a world without the Internet, YouTube or video games.

As an educator, one of the greatest challenges while teaching a lesson is student engagement. As a parent, I see the behind-the-scenes of student engagement and motivation — a lesson that helps me engage students within my own classroom.

So why are we still trying to teach students the same old-fashioned way? Today’s educators must embrace Generation Alpha’s technological skills and help them succeed academically with engaging, state-of-the-art educational technology. Augmented reality is an exciting way forward. I have personally seen the impact AR can have on student engagement, motivation and academic success.

With digital technology, students can take part in experiences that otherwise may not be available. Here are three of my favorite AR resources right now:

Sandbox AR app

The free Sandbox AR app helps teachers like me transform lessons. The beauty of it is the ease of use and freedom of creativity it offers students who are building one-of-a-kind, virtual environments. My students have re-created the moon landing and taken deep-sea adventures.

The Sandbox AR app in action. (Credit: Discovery Education 2022)

Looking for an application of AR? To combine STEM and English language arts, I tasked my students to create a fictional virtual scene and then to write a story to explain it. With the ability to free-design or use preset sandboxes such ancient Egypt, space exploration, Mayan civilization, road construction and more, the applications to multiple lessons plans and academic disciplines are vast.

Quiver AR app

Quiver combines physical coloring from back-in-the-day, marker-style activities with ultramodern augmented reality technology. It helped my students bring their unique coloring creations to life.

I’ve used Quiver to teach about the butterfly life cycle, Dot Day, Earth and the continents. Realistic characters engage students while providing useful educational information on topics within science, social studies, English language arts, visual arts and social-emotional learning.

Merge Explorer app

Merge Explorer is the reason I fell in love with augmented reality. It combines AR with science and STEM lessons; has AR views in Cube, World or 3D mode for different ways to interact with objects; and works with both in-person and distance learning. All our science labs could be tackled from home!

In March 2020, it became my go-to resource for our human body unit. Using the Mr. Body topic card activity, my second-grade students could see a cartoonish body in augmented reality identifying the major organs and their function. By the last couple of weeks of distance learning, all my 34 students were able to use the app to increase their engagement, learning and curiosity about the human body.

Tech allows for fundamental education changes

Technology can help us revolutionize education.

According to Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman at the World Economic Forum: “We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work and relate to another.”

If we truly are to prepare our students for their future, we must grasp the idea that technology is and will surround every aspect of our lives. Technology needs to be at the forefront of education and in all instructional content areas within our schools. AR apps like these are a powerful place to start.

Zeny Ulloa  is the instructional technology curriculum support specialist at Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida.

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More from SmartBrief Education:

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Transforming teaching, learning with augmented reality - SmartBrief

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Sign up for our daily edtech news briefing today, free. It is hard to believe that by 2025, the global population will be comprised of 2 billion Generation Alpha members — kids born between 2010 and 2025 — who are on track to be the most technologically infused generation to date. These students hav…

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The one skill that I want to learn more about and practice in my own teaching next year is coding. I was intrigued by the connections I could make between music concepts and coding concepts. Block coding in projects like Scratch and EduBlocks makes coding accessible to students (and teachers) with just a basic understanding but still reinforces those computational thinking skills.  There are many opportunities for cross curricular lessons as well that I am excited to do.

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https://codeorg.medium.com/announcing-code-orgs-newest-curriculum-cs-connections-plus-this-year-s-hour-of-code-activities-b7c1657f0594