The Role of Technology in Music Education: a Survey of Computer Usage in Teaching Music in Colleges of Education in The Volta Region, Ghana

The study sought to find out the role of computer technology in music education in Colleges of Education in the Volta Region of Ghana. It aimed at surveying the use of computer technology for teaching music and exploring the instructional prospects for computer technology usage in music in Colleges of Education. The study employed Rogers’ Diffusion Innovation theory and descriptive survey research method. Data was collected from the respondents using questionnaire, interview, and observation. The study revealed that even though about 90% of the music tutors have good academic qualification and over five years teaching experience, lack of competence in handling computer technology in teaching music among some music tutors and incoherent ICT initiatives hindered proper application of computer technology in the field of music education. It is however envisaged that increasing access and coherent computer technology initiatives will be paramount for the teaching of music in the Colleges of Education

Incorporating Music, Literature, and Culture in Communities of Second Language Learners

This portfolio is a collection of papers that relate to the field of second language teaching. The papers include the author’s teaching philosophy, three artifacts, and an annotated bibliography. The subjects covered include: the use of literature to teach a second language, the importance of having a community of learners in the classroom, and the incorporation of culture into the second language classroom. The author also includes an annotated bibliography of articles and books that shaped his teaching philosophy

STIMULATING DIGITAL LITERACY PARTICIPATIONS’ FRAMEWORKS: INNOVATIVE AND COLLABORATIVE LANGUAGE PROJECTS

This paper highlights educators’ innovativeness as digital participants and facilitators adapting themselves in current global educational changes as upshots of technological fusion that influences instructional variation for learners’ real–world. It is perceived that teachers’ flexibility to evolving trends in current instructions is crucial. It is fundamentally a structured expository concept on teachers and students’ development reinforced by theories and researches’ investigated outcomes toward the challenges of emerging pedagogic phenomena sustained by model project- tasks designed for innovative, collaborative and digital literacy participations. This inquisition attempts to respond to the succeeding inquiries: Why do educators innovate in the 21st century? Is professional development necessary to situate contemporary learning? What are the roles of technology and digital literacy for innovative and collaborative instructions? What are the features of digital literacy and digital participations and how do participants pragmatically engage? What are some collaborative and innovative projects that define digital participations? Are these tasks sustained by current and duly sanctioned educational principles and frameworks? Do these tasks conform to the scope of integrated digital literacy taxonomy framework? Do the framework and principles produce practical assessment of outcomes to improve future project-based tasks? An empirical investigation is recommended to test the significance and correlation among students’ project performance towards their attitudes and efficacy on digital literacy.  Article visualizations

Teaching and Learning Music Technologically

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, multimedia technology has transformed all educational paradigms. In this mixed-methods study, the researcher shows the effects of inspiring instructional technologies on assimilating musical knowledge and developing performance concepts. Thus, assisted- technology learning is the foundation of inspiration to induce music performance and theory, hardening self-esteem as the core subject of this study. The researcher measures time and skills gathered over two years by a group of high school music students, assessing them with two variables: first, traditional conservatory instruction, and second, the MusicLab method. In addition, the researcher quantifies how technological tools intervene in fundamental musical knowledge and development in a greater or lesser time and what capacities are established more than others at the same phase with the two variables

A study of the integration of technology in the school arts classroom

This study explores the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Educational Technology (ET) as an educational resource in the school Arts classroom. Many teachers lack the qualifications to teach the Performing Arts (PA) of the Curriculum and Policy Statement (CAPS). Therefore, teachers rely on curriculum documentation and textbooks to help guide planning of lessons and the execution thereof. Technology as a resource tool can assist teachers as they incorporate an overwhelming amount of content/concepts in lessons. In this way they could improve classroom practice in the PA disciplines. With the emergence of Operation Phakisa: ICT in Education (Department of Education [DoE] 2015), the researcher acknowledges that the integration of ET is unavoidable. Moreover, the research highlights the importance of engaging with the rising hegemony of ICT as the defining characteristic of the information society. Literature supporting the inclusivity of media and media-related resources in education are discussed. In addition, the literature review focuses on a wide variety of ET and concludes with the implementation of ET in a South African context. Teachers from the Foundation Phase (FP), Intermediate Phase (IP) and Senior Phase (SP), namely grade R – 7, were invited to participate in the study where they were observed during contact time drawing on technology to aid teaching pedagogy. The research design involved a qualitative inquiry with aspects of crystallization where the data was collected through observations, interviews and teacher’s self-assessment. The findings suggest that teachers received little or no training in one or more PA disciplines. The integration of technology in the teaching pedagogy led to an enhanced learning environment where the teacher could actively engage learners in meaningful activities. The findings furthermore revealed that the use of technology was not uniform and did not lead to neat conclusion. Instead the researcher found that a great deal of divergence in the use of technology. This divergence was found across art disciplines and the use of technology also differed among teachers. Finally, individual teachers also differed in their use of technology across the art disciplines that they taught. The learners benefited from the use of technology insofar as they displayed a better understanding of the concepts in subsequent lessons. Furthermore, by the end of the study, teachers had begun to implement the new teaching style in learning areas other than the PA

Through the enlightened eye and I – am I bringing creativity and visual literacy into Higher Level Education?

Eisner (1993) explained the need to extend the forms of representation in our understandings of educational research. This special issue of EJOLTs is intended to contribute to the knowledge-base generating a new understanding of the educational influences of educators who are using ICT in e-learning and values-based self-study to enhance their own and their students’ learning. In this introduction I show how the originality of my own contribution is in the relationally dynamic meanings of my value of responsibility for others. My value of responsibility for my students includes acknowledging safety, care, honesty, creativity, enjoyment and excellence. In this introduction I also point to the epistemological significance of clarifying these meanings in an e-Learning c curriculum in Higher Education. In this paper I will discuss what I mean by visual narratives. I will show how my learning in school and Higher Education has shaped my teaching. I will explain the importance of emotions in teaching and learning and how this has influenced my emerging pedagogy. Finally, I will describe the Masters programme at Dublin City University and how I am supporting students on the M.Sc. in Education and Training Management programme. This special issue comprises four papers by students I am supporting. The papers show the values, ethos and spirit of the course I run and the influence of my own research to introduce creativity and visual literacy into Higher Education studies for practicing educators

Mobile Game-Based Learning (mGBL): Application Development and Heuristics Evaluation Strategy

Purpose – This article presents an approach to developing a mobile game-based learning (mGBL) application by adapting unified characteristics of learning theories and approaches. In addition, the study also identified the strategy to evaluate mGBL. Method – The study utilized the design research approach in information systems. The research methodology can be divided into five phases; (i) awareness of problem (ii) suggestion (iii) development (iv) evaluation and (v) conclusion. Findings – Unified characteristics of mGBL were identified. In adapting the characteristics, the mGBL application was developed based on the concept of values in 1Malaysia. To evaluate the mGBL, a heuristics evaluation strategy is proposed. The strategy consists of four components: Game Usability, Mobility, Game Play, and Learning Content. Each of the components represents the issues to be considered and evaluated for a mGBL. Value – The study provides intensive review of mGBL characteristics that can be useful and may be of interest to game developers. In addition the heuristics evaluation strategy is developed for evaluating the effectiveness of mGBL application

A review of the evidence on the use of ICT in the Early Years Foundation Stage

This report reviewed existing evidence on the potential of technology to support the development of educational policy and practice in the context of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Reference is made to the use of ICT by young children from aged birth to five years and its potential impacts, positive and negative on their cognitive, social, emotional educational, visual and physical development