04/27/2021
Prior to 2020, I experienced online teaching through a music school I previously worked for. They offered online lessons over Skype in the event that students missed their in-person lesson. One main challenge I experienced with virtual lessons at the time was the poor quality of video and sound that limited virtual teaching capabilities. At the beginning of March 2020 I completely switched to online teaching due to the pandemic. The number of students that were enrolled for lessons initially dropped significantly. At first I was skeptical about the effectiveness of online learning. My previous experience with Skype video call lessons was very limited, and due to the quality of the video and audio the lesson wasn’t always successful.
Since the pandemic began, video calling applications and resources have become far more prevalent and more technically advanced to accommodate the essential need around the world as everyone switched to online learning and work. The technical advancements driven by widespread demand seem to underlie the improved video and audio capabilities that are of sufficient quality for an online music lesson.
Now after a year of teaching fully online, video calling applications and resources have improved to fit current classroom needs which has created an environment that facilitates growth for each student and their musical abilities.
Here are some of the benefits that I have experienced through online teaching.
1. Independent learning
Accountability and ownership: Learning online requires the student to ask more questions, be clear with what they want, write down and record homework each week.
Independent music learning: For example, piano students without a teacher or parent present must rely completely on themselves to locate where to begin, which hand to use, and how to accurately find the information they need to play each piece. For my voice students the independent environment fosters more awareness of their body description which allows them to develop a more clear understanding of their own instrument.
During in-person lessons, students often rely on the teacher to assist in learning music, regardless of tools they acquired that enable them to learn independently. Without a teacher or parent physically present, the student is given the space and time to become more self aware and to communicate a question, an answer, or observation on their own. The more responsibility and ownership my students have over their learning, the more improvement I notice in their overall progress. In an online setting, sheet music is sometimes shared over the screen, but the student must look in their own book to continue the music reading process.
2. Independence with technology
Zoom meeting functions: Yes, 6yrs+ students log into zoom, draw online, locate emoticons, audio settings and leave the meeting independently.
Use of other online applications: My students have the ability to use other applications such as youtube or other music streaming applications. Through these resources students can discover audio tracks to accompany themselves in and outside of the lesson.
This allows the student to be completely self-reliant, providing the parent and family the flexibility of time they need to attend to other tasks.
Teaching consistency independent of location changes
Families can continue lessons regardless of their geographical location: I currently teach students who live in other cities, provinces and even countries. After spending time with one teacher it can be hard for families to transition to someone new suddenly. Online lessons provide the flexibility to continue consistently with the same teacher regardless of address.
After a full year of online lessons these are only some of the benefits that I have begun to see. I can only imagine that with more patience, time, and effort that progress will continue to accelerate for each student.
Here is a fun photo from spirit week. It's crazy sock week, meet my friend Gertrude!
