Finalizing My Course
I feel confident that my course is done…..at least all the major work is complete as I’m sure I’ll continue to find little things that need to be added. This has been a very challenging process – developing an online version of my course. Every time I think I’m done, I find something else that needs to be added or altered. I think it will be much more difficult to teach music theory online than in an actual classroom.
I have tried to create the sense of social, teaching and cognitive presences as discussed in Garrison’s article. I think the creation of “open stage” is a strong way to create a social presence where students can learn about one another and share interests. I am surprised when I think back on all of the development, that the most difficult thing for me was the discussion forums. I originally thought that creating activities where students could notate music would be the challenge. I find now that the discussions were the real challenge – finding engaging discussions where students could think about music, analyze works and apply their personal interests while relating it to each module’s content was difficult.
In general, I think the various parts of my course follow the aspects of social cognitive and teacher presence discussed in the article. Social interaction is encouraged by using the informal “open stage” area, peer review of creative assignments is used during the final module and many discussions ask students to consider how they would apply elements of music into their music creations. Each module’s reflective journal allows students to think and reflect on lectures, notes, assignments and discussions. Reflecting on what was learned and what could be explored more offers the opportunity to self- assesses. Teaching presence is evident now through the use of detailed materials, expectations and demonstration videos. Overall I think the activities are structured in a way that will build inquiry throughout the course.
I am very much looking forward to the peer reviews and into getting some feedback into my theory course. (3)
