My OperaAdvances in Technology and the Need to Learn About Them
Tuesday, January 18, 2005 8:03:23 PM
On the door of the Case Center for Music Technology is an article from a
Popular Science
magazine. It shows what people 50 years ago (i.e., 1954) thought a home computer would look like. From their vantage point it must have looked amazing. The article noted that there would have to be new technology created, and at that time unimagined, to have this "home computer" which was the size of a small room. From our vantage point it seems silly, because we have far exceeded the technology guessed at 50 years ago. With the exponential, j-curve advances in technology, we cannot dare to imagine what a home computer would look like 50 years from now. Webster's (2002) article details just how far we have come, yet cannot anticipate how far we are going to go.
This is humbling and causes some debate among educators. If technology is advancing at a rate where computers and technology bought today are virtually obsolete 2 years from now, that seems an unwise investment. Tubas and trombones, when well maintained, last for decades and the technology has not changed much in a century. Yet there are examples (e.g., Ontario, Canada) where schools have sold off the entire band inventory over summer to equip the school with computer labs.
Although it is difficult to keep pace with technology, technology has become the "literacy measure" of the 21st century. Those who are equipped to use technology, and understand it enough to use the next generation of equipments, have a much better chance of succeeding in the world. Therefore, it behooves educators, and music educators, to adopt and utilize technology in the classroom as frequently as possible, and to integrate it on the student side. Although technology used by an educator can make subject matter delivery more interesting, efficient, and exciting to students (particularly those with visual learning strengths), this is only half the battle. It is equally important that students have hands on experience with technology.
This means that educators, and music educators, must become fluent in using and teaching various technologies. They must be prepared to integrate it into lessons, and train their students in use of the technology. The Ti:ME advisory board members seem to understand and advocate that music educators be well versed, and have a comprehensive knowledge of the various types of music technology. The key again, is not just to know it, but to implement it. I personally know music technology, and have been using it since 1990, but rarely did I implement it in my music classroom. The expectations of what a band is to do and a band director provide needs to change. There is no technology grade at State Large Group Contest, yet there is a technology grade in the lives of our students. But we must put students foremost, and make their music education as practical and applicable as possible.
This is humbling and causes some debate among educators. If technology is advancing at a rate where computers and technology bought today are virtually obsolete 2 years from now, that seems an unwise investment. Tubas and trombones, when well maintained, last for decades and the technology has not changed much in a century. Yet there are examples (e.g., Ontario, Canada) where schools have sold off the entire band inventory over summer to equip the school with computer labs.
Although it is difficult to keep pace with technology, technology has become the "literacy measure" of the 21st century. Those who are equipped to use technology, and understand it enough to use the next generation of equipments, have a much better chance of succeeding in the world. Therefore, it behooves educators, and music educators, to adopt and utilize technology in the classroom as frequently as possible, and to integrate it on the student side. Although technology used by an educator can make subject matter delivery more interesting, efficient, and exciting to students (particularly those with visual learning strengths), this is only half the battle. It is equally important that students have hands on experience with technology.
This means that educators, and music educators, must become fluent in using and teaching various technologies. They must be prepared to integrate it into lessons, and train their students in use of the technology. The Ti:ME advisory board members seem to understand and advocate that music educators be well versed, and have a comprehensive knowledge of the various types of music technology. The key again, is not just to know it, but to implement it. I personally know music technology, and have been using it since 1990, but rarely did I implement it in my music classroom. The expectations of what a band is to do and a band director provide needs to change. There is no technology grade at State Large Group Contest, yet there is a technology grade in the lives of our students. But we must put students foremost, and make their music education as practical and applicable as possible.
