Week 9

The course that I’m developing is a digital music production class intended on familiarizing aspiring musicians with the latest technology available for digital music composition. The class will focus on musical theory, song structure, software features and functionality, best practices and current trends in the music industry. The software applications featured in the course are Propellerhead’s Reason 5.0 and Record 1.5. These are expansive music productions tools with user-friendly interfaces that make the creative workflow fast and efficient. The class will be broken down to 10 weekly modules, each of which will focus on a separate aspect of music production. Through streaming video demonstrations, interactive exercises, and mixing and production coursework, students’ will learn to use Reason’s virtual instruments to create professional-sounding recordings and at the same time get a complete beginning-to-end overview of how music is written, recorded, mixed, and mastered. The goal is that by the end of the 10-week course each student will have mixed and mastered their own original project.

The expected students for this course will vary in many ways, but will hopefully share an affinity for music. There is no grade or age range designated, however all potential students will be expected to have some experience in digital audio sequencing, a basic knowledge of musical composition and moderate to advanced level of computer proficiency. There will be some advanced concepts and procedures covered so I have additional resources and instructional support in place to guide the lesser-experienced students. There will also be constant interaction between the instructor and students to ensure that everyone is on the same page throughout the course.

I am the instructor for the course and this will be the first complete course that I have developed. I have some experience in using course management systems to organize and deliver content, but this is my first experience in developing a complete course from scratch. For this reason I am relying on my online learning experiences as a student to develop this course. Naturally, working in the technology field, I have a tendency to want to incorporate the latest and greatest technology available. At the same time, I will be presenting this technology under the assumption that it is the first experience for all users and will employ a simple and concise format that will remain consistent from module to module.

The content will be structured in a way that allows the student an opportunity to explore their own creative abilities and develop an approach that best suites their style for each lesson. There will be analysis and discussion on components of current musical pieces that were created using a similar process. Next the student will be presented with the tools and procedures to create these components on their own followed by an exercise to familiarize the student with the process. A task will be assigned along with the guidelines/criteria required to create and record a musical component that will be part of complete composition project. The media used to deliver the content will come in the form of streaming video tutorials, step-by-step PDF guides, mp3 audio samples, and audio project files. These files will be embedded within the supporting text content within Moodle. There will also be a separate downloadable all-inclusive PDF version available. Student support will be available through discussion forums, instructor email, virtual office hours and a constantly evolving resource database based on student feedback.

The course material has been developed based on my personal experiences in the music industry and with the featured software. A majority of my knowledge in this area was self-obtained throughout ten plus years of independent music production. I also completed formal training online with Berklee College of Music and have chosen a course layout comparable to those that are currently available here. The material is a combination of best practices that I’ve observed within the industry and my personal understanding of the subject matter. I have developed a systematic approach for composing and recording music that optimizes my workflow as a producer. My plan is to share my experiences with those who have a similar passion and help them develop an approach that compliments them as an artist. There is a wealth of resources available for technology in music production and I hope to consolidate these into a 10-week course and present a complete package that will guide students/musicians through the complete digital music production process.

Week 8

A majority of my testing will be focused on the media fidelity because of the media that I will utilize to deliver the course content. I am developing instructional videos that can be streamed or downloaded and I want to optimize the accessibility without sacrificing quality. I plan to develop these videos with the purpose of achieving the instructional goals that I have set for my students and myself.

The first stage of testing will most likely occur within the development and delivery of the content. I will create outlines for each procedure to be covered and assess the effectiveness of the dialogue used. I will do this by presenting the instructions to test subjects with a variety of experience levels and technical abilities. Once I make the necessary adjustments based on feedback gathered, I will find a format that works best for all situations. From here I will structure the remaining presentations in a similar format to keep the continuity from module to module.

Once the quality of the information is affirmed, I will begin to develop the videos based on the outlines. I have researched the methods used in similar courses and have selected the tools that I will use to produce the videos based on reviews from actual developers. I will capture the video procedures in a high-resolution format and then begin the editing process. Once the videos have been edited and all of the visual/instructional aids have been added, I will record the voiceovers.  I can then sync the audio with the video and do any final edits.

Next I can begin my second level of fidelity testing. I will need to compress the video to a size and format that is both accessible and viewable on many different devices/workstations. I’ll start with fairly large dimensions and work my way down as needed. I had originally planned to offer different versions of the same videos, but have since decided against it, as it may confuse the students. Upon placing the first video on the server, I will access it from different workstations that I typically use to test websites. Some of these include: An old Mac G4, a new iMac, an old Mac Powerbook laptop, a new Macbook Pro laptop, an old Gateway PC laptop, a newer IBM laptop, and finally and old PC workstation with dial-up internet. I will be mainly checking to see if the image is cropped or distorted and if there is any lag in the stream. If for instance there were significant lag on more than one workstation, I would re-compress the video to accommodate for lesser bandwidths. I already plan to have a text equivalent to each video, so this could be a last resort for a user that was unable to view the videos. I will also need to be cognizant of the software required to view these videos. I have decided to use the new features available in Adobe Acrobat, which will allow me to embed video and web content within a PDF file. This way each user could access them using the Adobe Reader freeware. I hope to be able to offer the complete course on CD format for users that have unreliable internet or lesser bandwidths.

The actual course as it is constructed within the CMS will need to be tested as well. I plan to use the internet evaluation tools used by our compliance experts here on campus to ensure that my course is ADA compliant. A majority of these are available at http://acm.csusb.edu/forms/evaluationTools.aspx

This will guarantee that my course is audible for the seeing impaired via text readers and viewable for the hearing-impaired via captioning and text equivalents (though it would be very difficult to design a music production course for a hearing impaired user).

Once the instructional quality and media fidelity for the module are affirmed, I will use this as a template to build the remaining content. I will distribute the syllabus and class requirements immediately (during the first week) and ask that the students complete an introductory module and submit confirmation that their primary means of accessing the course is sufficient. All hardware, software, and accessibility issues should be addressed within the first week. I will have hard copies of the course and text versions of the content available as a precautionary measure.

I have borrowed many of my methods and materials from similar online courses developed by institutes that are well respected in the music industry so I expect that the results will be no different. I had very little experience when I began and most of my formal training was completed online. In this sense, I have an insight to how a student will view my course and the best practices desired to achieve my course objectives. However, there are so many components and sophisticated procedures in the course that I don’t expect it to be perfect the first time through. I’m sure that it will require a fair amount of modification during the fist year and will need to be constantly updated to accommodate student needs and parallel the ever-evolving technology that it communicates.

Week 7

I have experimented with many technologies that are or could be incorporated into a course management system. Those that are most reliable are always the most user friendly and common methods. Discussion/bulletin boards are the easiest for students to use because they don’t require any external devices or software other than a computer or cell phone. They also allow for interaction between all parties involved in the e-Learning process. Another big advantage is the asynchronous nature of the interaction. Students can engage in the discussion at their convenience and this makes for a much richer discussion. The only downfall that I can see with discussion boards is that there is no real sensory stimulation. It’s hard to be excited about a course (particularly an online course) when the interaction is primarily text based regardless of the subject matter being covered. I plan to use a discussion forum as a means to generate and gather feedback on class activities and issues. If I see that students are having similar issues or experiences, I will use this information to make adaptations within my instruction and provide additional support where needed.

I agree with Dr. Newberry when it comes to threaded discussions. They tend to be all over the place and there is no real structure to them, which makes it extremely difficult to follow or access specific information within a thread. Maybe that’s why it’s called a threaded discussion. I’m sure that there are sites out there that host these discussions in a manner that has structure and organization to it, but I have yet to come across these. I typically stick with the discussion features offered within the CMS and they work, but I won’t go out of my way to incorporate this into every lesson plan. If I were to use threaded discussions extensively, it would probably be to promote a holistic approach to problem solving and get an idea of where my students’ heads are at. This doesn’t really apply to the course that I’m developing, but I will perceivably incorporate it as a means to address student concerns and facilitate the creative thought process for composing music.  The real benefit to using threaded discussions is the interactions between students, content and instructor. They are flexible in that they can be student-led or instructor-led and dynamic in that new topics can be introduced at any point in the conversation. Though they seem to mimic a face-to-face class discussion, I find that this form of communication is most effective when used sparingly.

Streaming video is becoming more and more commonplace in eLearning and there are many new ways to capture or deliver this media. In fact, most new cell phones and iPods have the capability to access the internet and play streaming video. There are many sites that allow users to enter the URL to an online video and convert it to a portable video that can be saved transferred to different devices.  You can even extract the audio from a video and import it as an mp3 to your iPod. I personally prefer to do this if the audio is descriptive enough and place the mp3 on a flash drive where I play it in my car via an usb reader on my car stereo. There are also many applications and sites available that will process videos or slideshows that you’ve produced and convert them to a flash movie to be viewed online or generate an html code that allows you to embed your video. Some that I use are Adobe Media Encoder and longtailvideo.com. You can also post a video on Youtube and automatically add captions and retrieve the embed code to post your video anywhere on the web. Sharing video online is so easy now that many of the discussions within social networking sites either have videos embedded or a video as the topic of the discussion. With the advancements of portability and accessibility, the only real disadvantages of using video within an online course would be the lack of interaction and possibly user characteristics. You would have to have a really outdated computer or dial up internet for video to be an unreliable media. If either of these were the case, the user probably shouldn’t be taking online courses in the first place.

Podcasts are another effective means of delivering content in eLearning because of their portability and accessibility. Because they are non-streamed and the file sizes are so small they can be downloaded in seconds and uploaded to almost any portable device that plays audio these days. They can be especially effective in eLearning when delivered through what is called a RSS feed. This allows a user to subscribe to a podcast or series of audio/video files and automatically receive these files as once they have been posted. I prefer this means of delivery because there is no additional effort required from the user to access the podcast once established. Unlike typical methods of delivering media such as streamed webcasting or direct download, an application known as a podcatcher can be configured to automatically access the podcast and check for new files and download them to your phone or computer. If my instruction didn’t require the student to reproduce what is being taught on a computer, I would opt to incorporate RSS feed into my CMS. Like with video, the primary downfall with podcast is the lack of interaction between student-student and student-instructor.

I tend to try to be on the cutting edge of technological advancement. I do my best to stay informed on advancements and new features introduced in software that I use regularly as well as implementing newly established applications to optimize my workflow. That being said, I would ultimately like to have dynamic video presentations embedded within a PDF guide that include direct links to the corresponding discussion forum/threads and additional resources on the web. I know that if the subject matter was solid and the course layout was simple and accessible, integrating these presentations would positively impact on the learning experience. I am only hesitant to use video as my main means of delivering information because of potential end user’s characteristics. I can offer these videos in mp4 format so that they would be viewable on iPods and mobile phones, but this would essentially defeat the purpose. The purpose for my instruction would be not only to introduce the processes and procedures, but also to serve as a guide for users to reference simultaneously while duplicating the processes presented. A podcast would serve no purpose without accompanying video or images to display the processes unless the user had prior knowledge of the devices being utilized. Bandwidth and ADA compliance are also issues that could come into play. A downloadable PDF with images including alt text rather than video would be my alternative to address these issues.

There are advantages and disadvantages to all forms of communication in eLearning. It is up to the instructor to assess the variables and custom tailor a combination of methods for delivering content and inspire interaction amongst the learning group. Like in marketing, the decisions made during the process of developing and delivering a message is ultimately dictated by the target market. As an instructor, one of the toughest tasks is to define this target market (students) and prescribe a lesson plan that will best accommodate all possible variables. These variables range from prior knowledge to socio-economic class. I presume that the most significant changes to an online course occur in the first year and decrease from year to year as the instructor learns his or her audience and their tendencies.

Week 5

The course that I’m developing will consist primarily of resources and instruction intended to guide the students through technical processes that once captured will enable the student to utilize the featured technology to create their own individual musical compositions.  The course will be segmented into several topics, each of which will focus on a specific component of digital musical composition. This will be a cumulative process whereby the end of the ten-week course, each student will have completed an original musical composition in its entirety. The course will be structured so that each topic builds upon the previous week’s activities, yet are still self–contained in a sense. Though each week’s topic will cover a separate element of the musical composition, the connect activities will correspond with one another. The course is designed for adults, but won’t be restricted to only adult students. I just recommend that the student have a basic understanding of music composition and be fairly adept at using computer software to sequence musical arrangements.

The customary methods used to teach a course with comparable content would normally include very descriptive text and diagrams due to the complexity of the assigned tasks. In order to accommodate all learning styles, I plan to have learning resources available in multiple formats. I will have video tutorials with audio as well as an alternate PDF guide that will incorporate screen shots captured from the video tutorial. Doing so will also ensure that the course is AD compliant.

I can foresee the largest difficulty for the students occurring within the assigned tasks. There are numerous steps to each process so one mistake would jeopardize the entire procedure. Since I plan on this being a long-standing course, I would create a troubleshooting guide for each topic based on student feedback. The basic structure of the course would remain the same, but the content would evolve from class to class.

There are both convergent and divergent elements within the course. The convergent would include the structuring of the recording devices within the computer-based technology. The students will need to set up digital devices within the audio sequencing software before they record.  The divergent content would be the audio the students produce using the computer-based technology. Though there are certain guidelines in place for each lesson, every student’s interpretation of these guidelines will vary as well as the musical renditions that they record.

The most salient of the characteristics within the content will most likely be the video tutorials. As an online instructor you can explain something and even illustrate it, but I find that the impact is greatest when a student can actually see the process being explained. I know that this was the most effective learning method for me when I began studying the topic.  It’s very advantageous as a learner to have the ability to reference a video at your own pace when duplicating a complex process. Using strictly text as a guide wouldn’t be efficient at all in this case. This is especially true with the content in this course because the directions need to be elaborate, yet not too wordy. Too much text could overwhelm or confuse the student, whereas with a video you can deliver the key information without having to verbalize as much of the supporting detail.

Though I find myself to be fairly technically savvy, I will not let this have too much of an influence on my teaching style. I’m approaching this course from a student’s perspective in hopes of making it as user friendly as possible. I realize that those who have either a lack of experience with music or computers or a combination of both would be completely lost if attempting my course. For this reason I will have a few pre-requisites posted as well as the general expectations that I have for my students. Students will be presumed to have some level of experience in sequencing music on a computer and have a general understanding of a modern musical composition. I believe that the most important characteristic for a student to possess in a course such as this would be a genuine passion for the subject matter. This is true with anything you pursue in life. You don’t become an expert over night and I don’t expect any student with little or no prior knowledge to grasp every concept presented. I believe that after the first two weeks of the class I’ll have a good idea of each of the student’s experience levels and will take this into account when grading their projects.

My overall goal for this coarse is to familiarize students with sequencing music within one of the most advances digital audio workstations (DAW’s). I will be using the most recent technology available, at the same time keeping in mind equipment/software that is affordable for the students without sacrificing quality. Some primary objectives that I have for the students are to gain a better understanding of the basic structure of a digital music composition, to gain confidence in their own creative abilities and to find a systematic approach that works best for them when applying this creativity using the tools that I’ve taught.

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