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Unit outline_

MUED4002: Technology in Music Education

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - Sydney

This unit will explore the possibilities offered by technology in music teaching and learning and the impact of technology on (music) education today. Pre-practicum weeks provide a broad range of practical skills including website authoring (Wordpress support is provided, but any platform can be used), multitrack sequencing, step sequencing, audio editing, notation, creating graphics or using copyright commons graphics, multi-angle filming, lighting, composition and editing. In subsequent weeks, students engage with new technologies both practically and philosophically, seeking to understand the sophistications of technology-based music practices such as DJiing, producing, remixing, as well as engaging with new approaches to teaching and learning such as flipped learning, online learning, blended learning, and the maker-movement. Students gain a practical understanding of synthesis and sampling.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit Music Education
Credit points 3
Prerequisites
? 
None
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
None
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

No

Teaching staff

Coordinator James Humberstone, james.humberstone@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) James Humberstone, james.humberstone@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Assignment Establish and maintain a professional online presence, and share drafts of digital resources
See full description on Canvas.
50% Formal exam period
Due date: 22 Jun 2020 at 23:59
2000 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Assignment Negotiated digital creative project
See full description on Canvas.
50% Formal exam period
Due date: 15 Jun 2020 at 23:59
1000 words
Outcomes assessed: LO4 LO5 LO6 LO1 LO2 LO3

Assessment summary

  • Establish and maintain a professional online presence, and share drafts of digital resources: Over the course of this unit, students must establish a professional online presence via a number of social networking sites. Students should create a Personal Learning Network and demonstrate their use of it.
  • Negotiated digital creative project: Students will negotiate a creative project to be published on their website, drawing on and
    extending ANY skills and/or philosophies/pedagogies learned in the course (once agreed with the lecturer).

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

Result name Mark range Description
High distinction 85 - 100 Work of exceptional standard
Distinction 75 - 84 Work of superior standard
Credit 65 - 74 Highly competent work demonstrating potential for higher study
Pass 50 - 64 Work of acceptable standard
Fail 0 - 49 Work not of acceptable standard

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website  provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.  

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 <b>W1. Skills 1a: Sequencers/DAWs 101.</b> Templates and strategies for composition using sequencers/DAWs. Learn the skills required to build loop-based compositions, sequencing layers of MIDI and audio data, program drum patterns in step sequencers and create template files that encourage students to compose. Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO4
Week 02 <b>W2. Skills 1b: More advanced DAW use</b> , audio editing, and multi-tracking. Connecting microphones to your devices, and recording clean audio. Recording outside or in noisy spaces. Combining audio and MIDI. EQing tracks, adding effects, mixing tracks in a multitrack recording. When to use the click, and when not. Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO4
Week 03 <b>W3. Skills 2: Technology in performance and recording</b> . Basic editing and mastering including video. <em>Bring some instruments.</em> Producing polished recordings of acoustic instruments, and synchronising with film. Multi-angle film shooting and editing. Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO4
Week 04 <b>W4. Skills 3: Notation software</b> , illustrations, worksheets and quality resources. Copyright. Notation software is used by most students who compose in stage 6, so a thorough understanding of one of the leading titles (Sibelius or Finale) is required. In addition, teachers need to be able to create their own resources, often exporting notation as graphics into other computer programs. And if you’re using graphics (or any other media) made by someone else, you need to understand co Seminar (2 hr) LO1 LO4 LO5
Week 05 <b>W5. Skills 4. It’s all about the format.</b> Understanding different image, video and audio formats. Why MIDI isn’t audio. Creating quality and legal resources. Making software tutorial videos and video editing in Screenflow. Combining these formats to create interactive digital media for learning with iBooks Author, and considering solutions for other platforms. New literacies with technology. Online class (2 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 06 <b>W6. The place of music in 21st Century Education</b> . Social Media, PLNs. Teaching with technology. Design and Instructional Design. Aural drilling and music theory. Introducing the flipped classroom of the 21st Century, or the MOOC of the future. Which is your preferred BL? What is literacy when information is accessed on a screen? Hours of classroom time and improved differentiation can be achieved through use of these latest technologies. Online class (2 hr) LO2 LO3 LO5 LO6
Week 07 <b>W7. The maker movement and other such isms.</b> What is a synthesizer and how does it work? Can we actually make analogue and digital instruments ourselves and where does musical creativity actually end? MIDI and OSC to the next level. Online class (2 hr) LO3 LO5 LO6
Week 08 <b>W8. 1-to-1 computing focusing on BYOD in Music Education.</b> The options with Mac and Windows laptops. Freeware and open source. LMSes. Designing Wikis. Inclusion and 1-to-1. USyd’s Bunga Burrabugu program as a model. Tablet computing and BYOD. iPad or iFad? Many schools are investing in these new devices and little research has been done on possible benefits in education. Negotiated project lift pitches Online class (2 hr) LO2 LO3 LO5 LO6
Week 09 <b>W9. Mix-up. Mash-up.</b> Returning to the themes of week 1, how is online culture changing how children conceive and interact with music? How can music educators take advantage of the interest and expertise children develop in the bedroom/garage in the context of the music classroom? Performance technologies and technology for performance. Looking at using technology to perform from sublime synthesisers to ridiculous digital DJing decks, loop pedals and other interfaces. Online class (2 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5 LO6
Week 10 <b>W10. Special Projects Week</b> Studio time can be booked for recording or filming toward your major project. James will contact you earlier in semester to see whether you would like to take up this studio time. **Optional** Online class (6 hr) LO1 LO4
Week 11 <b>W11. Skills revision week</b> Working toward your major task, and if you're studying MUED4006 Popular Music Studies, toward assessment task 3 in that subject too, we revise the essentials of (1) making clean audio recordings (2) multi-tracking (3) EQ and effects and (4) video and video editing, this time focusing on making instructional videos. In addition, we'll extend some of your audio editing skills, and look at the many great freeware DAWs out there that are incredible for music Online class (2 hr) LO1 LO4
Week 12 <b>W12. Tutorials on task 2, GTD, and dealing with digital stress</b> Time will be reserved for tutorials with James on your digital creative project, in the lab. This week also looks at essential digital tools for GTD. Online class (2 hr) LO2 LO5 LO6
Week 13 <b>W13. Final provocations</b> What have we learned? Where is this all going? How can you be an enthusiastic cynic? Online class (2 hr) LO2 LO3 LO5 LO6

Attendance and class requirements

  • Attendance requirements: Please click on below link to find more information on attendance requirements, as per the Sydney Conservatorium of Music resolutions -http://sydney.edu.au/handbooks/conservatorium/rules/faculty_resolutions.shtml (Item 12).
  • Referencing: All texts you refer to should be referenced using the style outlined in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2010 – 6th edition). Download and refer to this guide carefully: http://sydney.edu.au/library/subjects/downloads/citation/APA%20Complete_2012.pdf.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 3 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 60-75 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. use notation and sequencing software, and create templates for students
  • LO2. evaluate computer-based and other technologies relevant to music learning and teaching
  • LO3. plan strategies to manage technology in a learning environment
  • LO4. develop digital resources for music education
  • LO5. respond effectively to unfamiliar problems when using technology
  • LO6. formulate strategies to research learn new technologies relevant to learning and teaching.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.