WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM E-LEARNING? (AND WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? MICHELLE LEASOR

What Have We Learned from E-Learning? (And Where Do We Go From Here?)

By Michelle Leasor

The past two years have given music educators quite a lot to process. What do you mean I have to put all of my lessons online? How do we rehearse online? How do I recruit students for my program without being able to meet them first? This online thing just… doesn’t work! Most of us experienced emergency remote teaching (ERT), beginning with school closures in March 2020, and most of us came back to the classroom partially or fully during the 2020-2021 school year and beyond. Was all the effort worth it? The answer is a resounding YES!

Music classes - and fine arts classes in general - are difficult to replicate in a virtual environment. Music classes don’t translate very well unless teachers are in the room with students. Yes, there are great e-learning products available to us, but unlike in math or science classes, where students are learning similar topics across school districts, the content and curriculum in music classes often varies both year-to-year and from teacher to teacher. Music teachers are also highly protective of their curated resources, with many of us determined to teach things our own way. Figuring out how to quickly recreate virtual lessons and activities was exhausting, and many of us also wondered if what we were doing was actually working.

THE 3 E’S: EFFICIENT, EFFECTIVE, ENGAGING

What many of us came to realize is that we can transform the way we teach and review musical concepts in a virtual environment. We can do this through keeping the 3 E’s in mind: Efficient, Effective, and Engaging. An understanding of how the 3 E’s work in both live and e-learning activities makes for a better experience for everyone.

E-learning activities should be efficient for both teachers and students, just like in a live classroom setting. In a general music classroom, e-learning could be simple note name games or exploring various instrument timbres. These e-learning activities extend the live classroom and provide additional practice. However, efficient e-learning doesn’t require multiple steps for logging in. It also doesn’t require students to jump through several login screens and passwords, frustrating students and making it less likely that they will complete those activities. When choosing any e-learning, make sure that you know how to navigate everything from a student perspective and try making access to e-learning activities through one click or a link posted on your LMS or website.

The effectiveness of e-learning activities can be difficult to measure because teachers aren’t necessarily working with students in real time. One way to gauge effectiveness is to make sure that students can view their progress and results. For example, on a quiz about note names with a Google form, make sure that students can see their results, edit, and resubmit. If you use a video-based tool like SmartMusic or FlipGrid for students to submit playing exercises, include a student self-assessment so that they can evaluate themselves in addi-

tion to the teacher evaluation. Additionally, don’t choose e-learning activities just for the sake of including e-learning. E-learning activities should always be tied directly to what you are teaching in class.

Adults don’t always need to be entertained while learning, but our students are part of a “video game generation.” If something doesn’t go well for them in a video game or it’s not fun, they stop playing. Younger learners will do that with online activities as well if those aren’t engaging. They are accustomed to seeing professional ‘YouTubers’ and well-designed websites. For instance, if we create instructional videos of our own, we need to keep in mind that things like good lighting, sound quality, camera angle, and formatting and looking somewhat professional. Likewise, when choosing or designing e-learning activities, we need to look at all digital learning through a student’s viewpoint and ask ourselves if it is truly entertaining or engaging. I think some digital content is never tested with real learners - or tested enough, and I’ve heard complaints from my own children about certain websites or activities being boring. Taking a few minutes to reflect on how students would react to any e-learning activities will help encourage students to complete them, and even better, testing e-learning with your own children or your colleagues’ children is a great way to find out if your e-learning is engaging.

TAKEAWAYS FROM E-LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Not everyone has the skills, time, motivation, or patience to totally transform all of their teaching content to a digital format, and putting everything online isn’t necessary. There are still many positive takeaways from our experiences with e-learning: • We are better at distinguishing between what programs and websites are beneficial and which ones to avoid for our own teaching situations. • We have a better understanding of digital tools that can streamline our programs and classes, enhancing communication and providing online resources for students. • We are better at asking for assistance and sharing lessons and resources with peers, even with those who we only know via social media groups. • We have better camaraderie with other educators due to our shared experiences with e-learning. • We are better with adapting our activities to individual learners’ needs - some students need additional intervention while others could use enrichment activities. • We are better with planning our lessons and have developed strategies to continue the teaching and learning with students who are absent from class.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

All was not lost when we transitioned overnight to emergency remote learning. We’ve learned about our capabilities with digital content, and we’ve learned what works with our students. Will we ever need to completely go back to remote learning? No one knows, but now that we have some experience with e-learning, we are better prepared for various future teaching situations and environments. Keep the 3 E’s - Efficient, Effective, Engaging - in mind when choosing any e-learning activities for your students, and be sure to continue reaching out to other music educators for strategies and encouragement.

Michelle Leasor is a passionate music educator who has vast experience creating technology-rich and student-centered engaging experiences for both students and other educators. Michelle is currently a general music specialist in Pickerington Local Schools and has served in this role for six years. Prior to teaching in Pickerington, she was a high school band and orchestra director in Columbus City Schools, Dayton Public Schools, and Xenia Community Schools for 16 years, and in those roles she also taught Advanced Placement music theory, class piano, and music appreciation courses. Michelle is an active clinician at the Ohio Music Education Association and Technology In Music Education annual professional development conferences and serves as a marching band adjudicator with OMEA. Michelle has earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ohio University and University of Phoenix and is currently a doctoral candidate at Northcentral University. She has conducted research into the experiences of music educators during hybrid and remote learning, and she specializes in adapting digital content and delivery to a variety of students’ and educators’ needs. Michelle resides in Pickerington with her family.