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.