Desktop video-assisted music teaching and learning: new opportunities for design and delivery

To implement desktop video-assisted music teaching and learning effectively, teachers need a range of technical and instructional skills beyond those traditionally considered essential to the core practice of music teaching. The results of an extensive study by Anderson (2004a) and associated publications (Anderson & Ellis, 2001a; 2001b; 2002; 2003a; 2003b; 2004a; 2004b) have proposed a set of instructional strategies for desktop video- and web-assisted music teaching and learning in various contexts including private studios, schools, and tertiary institutions. Tables 1 and 2 summarise the main instructional and technical strategies recommended by the study. Further advances in desktop video technology are likely to herald new application possibilities. Accordingly, there will be a need for continuing research and development of strategies for its use in music education. The strategies proposed in Tables 1 and 2 can assist teachers and students to meet the challenges of teaching and learning music via various desktop video technologies. Building on this research, the principal author is currently examining how desktop video technologies can best be used in conjunction with room-based videoconferencing for distance music teaching. This needs to be investigated thoroughly because “good practice in the use of educational technologies is more about using the most appropriate technology for the particular learning situation than using the very latest technology or the biggest and best computers” (Alexander & Blight, 1996).