What to Do About Piracy?

            Pirating is something that we all do one time or another and in one shape or form. Whether it is music files or software, it will cost some amount of money to obtain, but we do not want to spend our hard earned money, so we try to take an easy way out. Although this may seem like the easiest and most sensible option, there are several disadvantages of pirating that I would like to note. First of all, if you purchase a piece of software, chances are it will come with lifetime free updates. When pirating software, there is no guarantee. It is possible that you may end up with older outdated software that is unresponsive, crashes frequently, and that you cannot upgrade. It is even possible that you may not end up with any software at all. In the worst case, you could end up downloading a virus or corrupted file. I do not know much about the method behind pirating software, but I know that it involves code cracking and risk taking.

            On the more obvious side of the spectrum, piracy is illegal. When you pirate software, you are infringing the copyright law, even if the software is to be used for educational purposes. The copyright law is already a touchy subject when it comes to music making and production, so combining this with the illegal acquisition of software could cause things to turn especially ugly. We must not forget that software companies depend upon our business to stay in function, and if we stop buying their products, they will be less and less able to serve us with those products as well as new products and product updates. According to FL Studio’s website, “We estimate that if 1 in 10 people using pirated copies purchased FL Studio we could double the number of free features we add each year.” One important thing to keep in mind is that some programs may have student offers. For example, Finale offers a student package where you can purchase a piece of software (that comes with several downloads) as a group, and everyone in the group gets one download. This seems like an excellent way of spreading the wealth to students who only need one copy of the program.

            Next time you are about to participate in the act of piracy, you have the option of considering some of the points in this post and reconsidering your actions. Or, you may be overly adventurous and decide that piracy is the best option. The option of piracy certainly has its advantages and disadvantages. Perhaps the decision may be easier now that you have an idea of what to look for when it comes to piracy.

Music Technology and the Domains of Inquiry

There are three domains of inquiry that suggest different questions that we can ask ourselves about how we will incorporate technology into our classrooms. These stages are philosophical, practical, and pedagogical.

·      Philosophical:

This stage involves establishing a vision of educational goals. Questions under this category include how we will portray ourselves as leaders, what exactly we want to impart to our students, as well as what the school district wants us to impart to our students. Obviously we have little control over the last aspect, but we certainly have the ability to control the first and at least shape the second. Although we may not be on the same level as our students, I feel that it is still important to give them the same respect that we would expect from them. At the same time, I would certainly want to appear as a role model and friendly figure to my students. One way that I would do this is by making it clear that I am always available for assistance with any matter. The only thing that I ask for in return is responsible communication skills. This becomes easy by taking proper advantage of professional communication technology, such as eMail.

·      Practical:

This stage involves taking inventory of the instructional resources available to us.

Questions under this category include the gap between the resources available to the students at school and at home, the teacher’s familiarity with the technology, as well as technology that distracts in a negative way. When I took Music Theory I in high school, part of the class time was designated for work on arrangements and compositions, in the music technology lab, using the music notation software Finale. This is an excellent example of a possible gap between what students are being asked to do and what they are used to doing. At that point, I had already been using Finale for about two years. While other students were struggling to accomplish basic functions within the program, I was able to complete the first assignment so quickly that my teacher initially though that I had in fact not finished.

·      Pedagogical:

This stage involves implementing teaching strategies. Questions under this category include the relationship between teaching and the culture of a school, how we can expand current teaching strategies, as well as how the media literacy cycle can be used to teach the faculty. I think that the idea of teachers learning from students is very important. In any good classroom setting, an exchange takes place between the teacher and the students. I think that all teachers should be open to learning about new forms of technology from their students as well as learning about new things using these technologies. For example, a student may be able to show his music teacher a new composition that he created using the program Garage Band. Depending upon the teacher, this may also be a good opportunity for the student to show the teacher some of the basic functions of Garage Band.

Interactivity #4: The Pedagogical Uses of Technology

Here is a link to my lesson plan map:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AifGVliPVd2bdG1vRG1CdjdxMUJUUkJhd3V1RnB6Wnc - gid=0

            I chose this lesson plan for several reasons. First of all, it revolves around composition, which I feel is an extremely important aspect of all arts. As musicians, we spend much of our lives practicing, performing, and even analyzing others’ music. When we are given the chance to write our own music, a whole new creative aspect comes into play. I also chose this lesson because it utilizes other disciplines. For example, the first part of the lesson involves conducting research and writing a brief report on a famous musician, thus crossing over into the discipline of English. Last but certainly not least, I really appreciate the fact that this lesson plan is almost entirely student-centered. Throughout the lesson, the students pick their own goals as well as how to go about accomplishing them.

            I do not see any gaps between the teaching strategies and technologies used in this lesson. The first technology required is an internet connection, which the students directly use to conduct research on a musician of their choice. The students then use computers with a multi-track digital audio software to record themselves. Lastly, they use CDs to obtain tracks created by their musicians of choice as well as headphones to help them better hear their works in progress. The only gap between the curriculum goals and teaching strategies is that I think the lesson should involve more group work and critique. The technologies used are completely essential to achieving the goals of the lesson, as each technology has a specifically designated use within the lesson (as described above). The use of the headphones is not explained, but I think that this technology’s purpose within the lesson needs no explanation.

Difficulties with Daily Communication Technologies Affecting the Learning Experience

            It is amazing to think of how much we rely on our basic communication technologies to enhance our learning experiences. When I first started classes at MSU, only one or two of my classes each semester were connected to Blackboard. Now, every class I have is automatically connected to Blackboard, and I would say that about 80-90% of my professors use Blackboard on a regular basis. Blackboard is a communication technology that was specifically designed for academic use; however, many professors use other communication technologies, such as eMail, to keep their students up to date. When I was in high school, I rarely needed to use eMail to receive communications from any of my teachers. Now in college, I need to check both of my eMail accounts various times each day in order to receive all the information and updates that I need to keep up with my schedule of classes and ensembles. Some of my music professors even communicate via text message to send out last minute updates and schedule changes.

            I think that this closely knit relationship between communication technologies and educational technologies has both positive and negative effects on learning. The main positive effect is that it enhances the classroom experience by a great deal. As an example, my Choral Methods professor provides a huge amount of auxiliary information to our class via Blackboard. For every unit of our class, she post up a PowerPoint presentation of about 20 slides as well as 5-10 additional documents covering various specific topics. Although this seems like a large amount of material to read and/or keep up with throughout the semester, I think that much of it will come in handy as future resources. When the class is finished, I intend to create PDF files of every single document she has posted on Blackboard (by that point there will probably be around 40) and keep them in a folder on my computer for future reference. Keeping students up to date by using mass eMails is also a great way to enhance the classroom experience. Conveying information through eMails instead of as announcements in class saves class time. In addition, sometimes there may be important developments that students should know about in between classes, especially for classes that meet only once a week.

            The negative effects of the close relationship between communication technologies and educational technologies are also very evident. The unfortunate truth is that technology often fails or does not work as planned. In addition, the types of communication technologies that we rely on today are reliant upon electricity in order to function. As many of us witnessed over the past week or so, natural occurrences in nature are more than capable of taking away electricity from us for up to a full week or more. Without electricity, we are left with very limited ways to keep up with eMails, Blackboard, and other communication/educational technologies. Even those of us who were left with power during hurricane Sandy probably realized that communicating with others via technology became slow or difficult. I think that as teachers, we need to be very sensitive to situations like these. Although it may be tempting to try and stick to the syllabus or expect that students make up all of their work according to the original deadlines, the truth is that these would be unrealistic expectations.

According to my experiences, when the lights went out, it became increasingly difficult to keep up with school work and communications, as I had to travel to school every time I wanted to use my computer online (or to receive electricity to charge my computer and phone when their batteries were running low). Luckily some of campus had power throughout the storm’s aftermath, which allowed me and many others to do this. If this had not been the case, I could not imagine how much more difficult it would have been to keep up. After living without electricity for a few days, everyday issues started to become more and more prevalent. Many of us probably dealt with issues such as how to create light during the dark, how to stay warm during the cold, where to do our laundry, where to go for hot water, and of course how to get where we are going to do all of these things. When many of these issues came up for me, worrying about keeping up with schoolwork became almost impossible.

I think that the best things that teaches and professors can do to help ease their students’ minds in a situation such as hurricane Sandy are (1) do not sent out any updates related to classes that would require students to do or think about work in advance or any extra work. If anything, (2) do the opposite and send out updates assuring those students who are able to receive your communication that they will have extra time to complete any upcoming assignments and that the course schedule will be adjusted as necessary. In addition, (3) share any information with the students that you can that may be helpful in ways that do not relate to the class. For example, up to several days after the hurricane, my Language and Literacy professor sent out eMails to the class on information such as power restorations, locations with an ample supply of heat and WIFI, and news on the gas shortage. Lastly, (4) use the unfortunate event as an opportunity to incorporate current events into the class when the students return. My Language and Literacy professor did this as well, and those students who were able to attend class that day responded to it very well.