Connect: Resound summary document

12
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT — A SUMMARY Findings from action research into how technology can improve access to music education in rural areas connect: resound

description

 

Transcript of Connect: Resound summary document

Page 1: Connect: Resound summary document

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT — A SUMMARYFindings from action research into how technology can improve access to music education in rural areas co

nnec

t: re

soun

d

Page 2: Connect: Resound summary document

2 nymaz.org.uk/connectresound

Page 3: Connect: Resound summary document

HOW CAN TECHNOLOGY IMPROVE ACCESS TO MUSIC EDUCATION IN RURAL AREAS?Connect: Resound was set up to address a key challenge facing many Music Education Hubs – how can a high quality, diverse music education be offered to children living in rurally isolated areas when the transport, cost and logistical barriers are so high?

17.6% of the population of England lives in areas defined as rural. Children growing up in these locations are adversely affected by the limited access available to music, along with other social, creative and educational opportunities.

The aim of Connect: Resound was to investigate how digital technologies could deliver music education and enrichment activities in rural areas. The overarching intention was to develop a model of good practice relevant to Music Education Hubs and similar organisations across the country. Led by NYMAZ, the research and development (R&D) project brought together music education practitioners from the North Yorkshire Music Hub, researchers from the University of Hull and technologists from UCan Play. It was supported by the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts.

Connect: Resound responded directly to a recommendation made in Darren Henley’s 2011 Review of Music Education in England that future research should ‘… examine how technology could enable better teaching of music (particularly in rural communities).’ The project worked with schools across North Yorkshire to deliver online music lessons and live broadcasts of music performances and events. Working with pupils, schools and music teachers, a variety of approaches to delivering music tuition online were tested. This summary presents our key findings and recommendations.

Connect: Resound is a first step on a longer journey exploring the role that technology can play in improving access to high quality music education for children in rurally isolated areas. We hope that it will inform and inspire music educators and policymakers who share these goals.

“I think it’s got real potential for providing opportunity for those kids that can’t, or are not sure about whether they want to do an instrument, to actually make a start.”Head of North Yorkshire Music Hub

17.6%of the population

lives in areas defined as rural co

nnec

t: re

soun

d3 nymaz.org.uk/connectresound

Page 4: Connect: Resound summary document

WHAT WE DIDConnect: Resound took an R&D approach to explore the ways in which internet technology could be used to deliver music education in schools.

The project team identified a standard technical setup for three strands of activity, comprising the Roland VR-3EX video and audio mixer and streamer, three cameras and external microphones. The equipment was used in addition to Skype, and was sourced with best value as well as quality of sound and image in mind.

The three areas of online learning explored were:

Instrumental tuitionSeven primary schools in rural areas across North Yorkshire participated in Connect: Resound. 71 pupils participated in twice-weekly online instrumental lessons over a period of seven weeks. We trialled different technical setups and delivered a total of 196 hours of tuition, in order to identify the most effective methods.

Live music performancesConnect: Resound worked with Musicport Festival, Grassington Festival and Harrogate International Festival to develop bespoke live broadcasts of music performances and behind the scenes insights with professional musicians spanning the rock/pop, folk and classical genres.

Continuing Professional DevelopmentTraining in delivering music education online was provided to teachers and music leaders across the county.

4 nymaz.org.uk/connectresound

Page 5: Connect: Resound summary document

WHAT WE FOUND OUT – IN BRIEF Investment in the training and technology

trialled by Connect: Resound to facilitate online learning could help Music Education Hubs reach a large number of pupils in a cost effective way.

The project enabled increased access to instrumental tuition for children living in rurally isolated areas.

The Music Education Hub and participating schools found that the approach was a welcome addition to music learning.

Pupil engagement in and enjoyment of online instrumental tuition was high.

Teachers were willing and able to adapt their approach to teaching to suit the online medium.

Removing peripatetic music teachers’ travelling time in North Yorkshire through offering online tuition would enable a further 4.2 full time members of staff to deliver instrumental lessons.

Of the four technical set-ups trialled, the following two were the most effective:

Skype (School) to Roland VR-3EX (Music Education Hub).

Roland VR-3EX (School) to Roland VR-3EX (Music Education Hub).

Where it is possible for schools to invest in the technology, the flexibility of having multiple camera angles (especially for small group lessons) is clearly beneficial in terms of increasing the depth of experience.

Reliable fibre optic broadband internet is critical for success and is still not always available to rural schools.

The tools, technologies and approaches trialled for instrumental tuition could have applications beyond the initial scope of the project. The possibilities for adaptations within other art form contexts – and beyond, into other subject areas – are many.

“The children were engrossed in what they were doing. We are all very impressed with the concept… As a governor I feel there are huge opportunities offered through the internet for geographically remote schools, small schools with very limited budgets.”School governor

conn

ect:

reso

und

5 nymaz.org.uk/connectresound

Page 6: Connect: Resound summary document

If Music Hubs across the country were set up with specialist facilities, they would have the potential to reach a greater number of pupils and widen access to music education for all, as envisaged in the National Plan for Music Education.

6 nymaz.org.uk/connectresound

Page 7: Connect: Resound summary document

WHAT WE FOUND OUT – IN DETAILOur research focused on the instrumental tuition strand of project delivery, with the results demonstrating three major areas of discovery: Technology, Delivery and Environment.

Technology TIME LAG

Time lag, or ‘latency’, is an ongoing issue for music teaching and collaboration over the internet. It created difficulties in accompanying pupils and counting a steady beat. However, in group lessons, teachers asked pupils to help by counting the beat themselves.

SOUND QUALITY Sound quality was generally felt to be good by

both teachers and pupils. There were some issues around noise spillage and reflections in larger rooms, and these have informed the guidance provided in the project toolkit (see page 11).

VIDEO QUALITY 80% of pupils said that they could see what the

teacher wanted them to do most of the time. Where schools were using the Roland VR-3EX and additional cameras, music teachers found it easier to see the detail they required. As lessons went on, both pupils and teachers got more confident in positioning the cameras and switching between different views.

INTERNET CONNECTION Although schools were selected to participate

because they were mostly in areas served by superfast broadband, there was great variability in the reliability of internet connections, which impacted on delivery in some schools. Internet connectivity remains a key issue for schools in remote areas.

“I think it’s important to give every child the opportunity to have instrumental lessons and that’s so very difficult in a small rural school.”School Music Coordinator

7 nymaz.org.uk/connectresoundco

nnec

t: re

soun

d

Page 8: Connect: Resound summary document

Delivery THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Pupil distraction was not an issue during online delivery with teachers reporting participants’ good concentration.

All the pupils reported enjoying the instrumental lessons with 70.1% saying they enjoyed them ‘very much’.

Parents’ reports of their children’s enjoyment were slightly lower but still very positive: 57.1% of parents / carers said their child enjoyed the lessons ‘very much’; and 24.5% ‘quite a lot’.

Parents gave positive feedback about children’s progress with 24.5% stating it was ‘very good’ and 46.9% indicating it was ‘good’.

Most of the pupils (74.1%) and many parents/carers (68.2%) wanted them to continue to learn their instruments ‘quite a lot’ or ‘very much’.

THE TEACHING EXPERIENCE Beginner technique demonstrated well via online delivery.

When the additional technology was not used, and only a Skype to Skype connection was used, the teaching of instrumental techniques such as violin bow hold was difficult.

Assembling instruments could have posed a potential issue and teachers developed protocols to address this challenge.

Tuning instruments presented issues but again, teachers developed strategies to deal with this using online apps – whilst also recognising the benefit in getting pupils used to tuning their own instruments early on.

Teachers integrated the use of different camera angles into their teaching during the course of the study and by the end were using the different angles for a similar proportion of teaching time. This suggests they became more comfortable with the technology at their disposal.

MUSICAL INCLUSION The project enabled children who would not otherwise have had the opportunity to learn an instrument: 79% of parent respondents would not otherwise have sought out instrumental lessons for their child.

“It’s so much easier – Yorkshire being massive – so actually having lessons rather than running from school to school, that was great. In the office, I couldn’t get stuck in traffic!”Woodwind Teacher

8 nymaz.org.uk/connectresound

Page 9: Connect: Resound summary document

EnvironmentRural schools are often challenged in terms of their size and the space that can be given over to this type of activity. Environmental issues arising included:

DEDICATED SPACE Rooms with multiple functions in small rural

schools caused disruption to online tuition. A dedicated teaching room is necessary.

ROOM SIZE In small rooms there were issues with not

being able to position the cameras far enough away to fully see the pupil, whilst larger rooms had problems with reflections that caused a lessening of the quality of the audio.

NOISE SPILLAGE Sounds at break time or from adjacent rooms

affect the quality of the teaching and learning.

Additional guidance around room setup has been developed as part of the Connect: Resound project toolkit.

9 nymaz.org.uk/connectresoundco

nnec

t: re

soun

d

Page 10: Connect: Resound summary document

WHAT WE FOUND OUT – PUPIL & PARENT RESPONSE Feedback from participating pupils and their parents/carers was positive, indicating high levels of enjoyment.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

RarelySometimesMost of the timeAll the time

Were you able to see what the teacher wanted you to do?

35.8%

50.7%

10.4% 3%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

A bitQuite a lotVery much

How much did you enjoy the lessons?

70.1%

16.4% 13.4%

“This opportunity has built confidence, self-satisfaction, happiness and family bonding. Very proud of what ‘music’ has created personally for our child.”Parent

“The lessons are really enjoyable and make me want to learn my flute every minute of every day and I’m so glad I got the opportunity.”Pupil

10 nymaz.org.uk/connectresound

Page 11: Connect: Resound summary document

WANT TO KNOW MORE?Downloadable resources and guidance for teaching music online are available at www.nymaz.org.uk/connectresound, including:

Full project report, including detailed research findings and technical specifications.

Online music teaching guidance for Music Education Hubs.

Top tips for schools participating in online music lessons.

Technical guide for the hardware and software solution used on Connect: Resound.

Technical set-up video for online instrumental teaching.

Informational video about the Connect: Resound approach.

Archived recordings of four live broadcasts:

Maia performing live at Musicport Festival

Behind the Scenes with Hope and Social presented by Grassington Festival.

Martin James Bartlett (BBC Young Musician 2014) recital from Harrogate International Festival.

Professor Colwyn Trevarthen keynote speech from NYMAZ Early Years Music Network Conference.

CONNECT WITH USWe are continuing to work with Music Education Hubs, schools and others to explore and develop the possibilities around online music education and enrichment. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like to know more:

NYMAZHeidi Johnson, DirectorT: 01904 543382e: [email protected]: nymaz.org.uk/connectresound

@NYMAZmusic

North Yorkshire Music HubIan Bangay, Head of Music ServiceT: 01609 532790e: [email protected]: northyorks.gov.uk

@NorthYorksCC

UCan PlayDr Jonathan Savage, Managing DirectorT: 07825 522104 e: [email protected]: ucanplay.org.uk

@jpjsavage

University of HullDr Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Music and TechnologyT: 01482 465370e: [email protected]: hull.ac.uk

@UniOfHull conn

ect:

reso

und

11 nymaz.org.uk/connectresound

Page 12: Connect: Resound summary document

connect: resound was a partnership project delivered by:

NYMAZ

North Yorkshire Music Hub (lead organisation: North Yorkshire County Council Music Service)

The University of Hull

UCan Play

Project partners:Carlton Miniott Community Primary School

Dacre Braithwaite CE VA Primary School

Goathland Primary School

Hawes Community Primary School

Kirkby in Malhamdale UVA Primary School

Selby Community Primary School

West Heslerton CE VC Primary School

Grassington Festival

Musicport Festival

Harrogate International Festivals

Supported by the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts – Nesta, Arts & Humanities Research Council and public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Photography: Sam Atkins