Tools for Teaching Music Literacy: Interactive Whiteboards in the Music Classroom

Music teachers understand the need to develop and maintain student focus and motivation in music learning. Students today are adept with and prefer visual interaction over traditional forms of communication such as speaking and writing. They want to interact with the learning process. Interactive whiteboard technology, an accepted instructional tool, can provide motivation, direct student focus, encourage student interaction, and assist the music teacher in instruction and assessment. Whiteboards work with students of all ages. They can be utilized with special needs students especially those with visual or aural learning disabilities. They also attract students with different learning styles. (Nolan, 2009).

Whiteboard technology links a computer software with presentation equipment for use on the interactive touch-driven digital board surface. Students and instructors can manipulate information on the board, view slide shows and Powerpoint presentations, write and erase, and create on a surface that is guaranteed to hold up under constant utilization. Students can view, edit, and make suggestions to their classmates' work. The instructor can save materials constructed, manipulated, or edited on the board for assessment purposes while preserving the original material.

Different versions of whiteboards have similar technologies and vary slightly in detail and process. Promethean, Hitachi StarBoard, Panaboard, SMART, and PolyVision are a few of the many available. Different software programs to create lessons are available. Developed materials are saved, can be edited for different content or class arrangements, used for assessment purposes, and made available to the students for content review. The included software allows the teacher to combine multiple sets of learning materials/activities for a class or rehearsal session that can be arranged and, during the session, called up with a simple tap on the board. Whiteboards provide many varied resources usable for presentation, student interaction, and practice. They assist in both whole class and individual learning.

The possible uses of whiteboard technology in your music classroom are as endless your imagination and that of your students. Following are a few suggestions that your colleagues are using in their classrooms:

Music Notation Reading: Sibelius and Finale software interacts with whiteboard technology. Teachers can prepare music notation reading and practice lessons for melodic (solfege) and rhythm (Kodály, Gordon, Takadimi) concepts. Students can notate, change/edit/correct, adjust, and manipulate notes on the staff.

Student Composition: Students can create performance parts for rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic classroom instruments.

Music Score Study: Scores can be scanned (Sibelius) and reviewed by the students for pattern and form identification. Articulation and expressive elements can be added and edited. Scores can be reviewed while the students also listen to performances.

Musical Instrument Identification: Students can identify instruments and sort into classifications. They can explore the instruments along with actual performance audio and video files.

Performance Reviews: Students can view and evaluate performance videos or can compare two different performances.

Performance Warmups: These can be developed, saved, and reused as needed.

Listening Maps: Students can manipulate composition sections into the correct order. A listening map can be developed in powerpoint or on a visual timeline and can be presented by individual screens.

The internet provides a wealth of music instructional activities and planning for whiteboard technology. Following is a small listing of possibilities:

WatchKnow Video Library featuring educational videos in all subject areas
www.watchknowlearn.org

Musictheory.net
www.musictheory.net/browser

Virtual Keyboard
www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/

Virtual Gametone Instruments
wrybread.com/gametone/instruments/virtual-gametone

philtulga - a collection of music activities and arts integration lessons
www.philtulga.com/resources.html

Teachers Love SMART Boards - a general site, frequently updated, with music applications
www.teacherslovesmartboards.com

The following software adapts well for use with whiteboards:

Groovy Music Series
www.sibelius.com/products/groovy

Sibelius Notation Software
www.sibelius.com/home/index_flash.html

Finale Notation Software
www.finalemusic.com/default.aspx

Music Ace
www.harmonicvision.com/mafact.htm

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