Over the past decade, the internet has emerged as a powerful tool in society -- creating a host of new and exciting opportunities for commerce, recreation, research and communication. "Cyberspace" has broadened its reach into education, with increasing numbers of online college and university course offerings. This newest form of distance learning has the potential to transform music drastically in higher education as it alters our student populations, methodology and traditional perceptions of the university experience.
Distance education is not a new idea. According to Jeffries (2001), the beginnings of "correspondence education" can be traced back to the early 1700s, and courses broadcast via radio or television have become increasingly popular since WWII. During the 1970s, the development of microwave technology lowered distance learning costs, and universities began to set up microwave networks to take advantage of the Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) authorized by the Federal Communications Commission. The Carnegie Commission on Higher Education (1979) predicted that, by the year 2000, more than 80 percent of off-campus and 10 to 20 percent of on-campus instruction would take place through telecommunications. This prediction lacked foresight, and although the past twenty years have seen distance learning delivered primarily through closed circuit and commercial television, the internet is now the primary environment. It has changed the distance learning landscape. As Lau (2001) pointed out, the scope, content, and delivery of distance education are now dramatically different, and online courses widely available.
Utilizing the familiar model of the British Open University, the "Internet Education Movement" is sweeping our planet at an amazing rate. Countries such as Pakistan, India and China have combined modern methods of teaching with emerging technologies in order to provide low-cost instruction for basic literacy and job training. Demiray and McIsaac (1993) also found that Turkey has recently joined those nations involved in large scale distance learning. They touted Turkey's distance education program with having enrolled almost one million students to become the 6th largest distance education program in the world.
Although slow to enter the distance learning arena, the U.S. has quickly caught up with the world in utilizing distance education. McIsaac & Gunawardena (1996) stated that in 1987, fewer than 10 states were actively promoting distance education but only two years later, virtually all states boasted distance learning programs. Their research pointed out that even when using traditional, face-to-face teaching methods, more than half of all university courses also integrated use of the internet. Their research further revealed that in the year 2000, 59 percent of all college courses in the U.S. utilized electronic mail, up from 20 percent in 1995. Similarly in 2000, 43 percent of college courses used Web resources as a component of the syllabus, up from 10.9 percent in 1995. Almost a third (31 percent) of all college courses had a Web page, compared to 9 percent in 1996. Concurrently, the 2000 Campus Computing Report data revealed that almost one-fourth (23 percent) of all college faculty had a personal Web page not linked to a specific class or course, compared to just 19 percent in 1999.
As reported by the U.S. Department of Education (1995, 1997-1998), the number of college students enrolled in distance learning courses was predicted to reach 2.2 million in 2002, up from 710,000 in 1998 (see Figure 1).
According to Sau Ching Lau (2001), senior analyst for International Data Corporation's Education Markets Research program:
Advancements in technology are breaking down barriers and changing the way teachers can interact with students. The Internet is the catalyst attracting more schools and students to Distance Learning than ever before. (p. 1)
Lau also felt that the number of higher education institutions offering distance learning was also growing dramatically each year. By 2002, Lau predicted that 85 percent of all two-year colleges would be offering distance-learning courses, up from 58 percent in 1998. In 2002, the U.S. Department of Education reported that 84 percent of four-year colleges were offering distance-learning courses, up from 62 percent in 1998. (See Figure 2)
The U.S. Department of Education (1995, 1997-1998) reported a total of 25,730 distance education courses offered by post-secondary institutions in 1994-95. Their report further found that in 1997-98, colleges and universities offered 47,540 different college-level, distance education courses for credit.
Although the number of courses and students has grown, the percentage of institutions offering complete degrees and certificates exclusively through distance learning courses has been relatively stable. In 1995, The U.S. Department of Education (1995, 1997-1998) found that 23 percent of all college institutions offered degrees exclusively through distance learning, while 22 percent did so in 1998.
No research was found concerning the status or effectiveness of college music and distance education using the internet. A single descriptive study by Fallin (1992), reported that music educators in public schools perceived distance education as useful for in-service training (67 percent), with television broadcasts receiving the most interest. As colleges and universities embrace the use of internet technology to deliver accredited music instruction, it is important to examine this issue.
The purpose of this study was to examine the number and content subject area of online music course offerings in U.S. colleges and universities. Internet courses were defined as those taught for credit, completely asynchronously, requiring only minimal campus visits for examinations or conference. Initial research was conducted using popular distance learning publications to identify a baseline of distance music programs (N = 62).
| Note: See also 1) Pat Criscito. Baron's Guide to Distance Learning. (Hauppauga, NY: Baron's Educational Series 1999); 2) Peterson's Guide to Distance Learning Programs 2001. (Lawrenceville, NJ: Peterson's, 2001); 3) Shannon Turlington The Unofficial Guide to Distance Learning. (Foster City, CA: IDG Books 2000). |
Each school site identified was searched internally for the nature of its distance learning program in music. A single two-letter prefix was helpful in locating course offerings due to the absence of standardization among schools concerning prefix designations for music courses (MU, MUS, MUST, MFA, M). Only internet Universal Resource Locators (URL) ending in "edu" (Colleges and Universities) or "cc" (Community College) were included in the study. Foreign and commercial URL's were excluded from the study. Search engines utilized included Google (http://www.google.com) and Metacrawler (http://www.metacrawler.com). All internet search procedures took place over a period of two weeks to insure the accuracy and recency of information. A total of 7,328 distinct "hits" occurred on all the search parameters. Each hit" not previously viewed was investigated by the researcher.
In reporting the data, no distinction was made concerning the year or semester courses were offered. Specific online music course titles varied among schools. These titles were then grouped by a panel of three experts (experienced, university music faculty) into ten (10) subject areas for comparison.
Web searches identified one hundred fifteen (115) schools from thirty-eight (38) states currently offering a total of one hundred fifty-five (155) music courses online for college credit (See Table 1). Of these, 70 percent were 4-yr colleges or universities (N=81) and 30 percent were Community or Junior Colleges (N=34) (See Table 2). Although it is possible that an online course did not appear in the search procedures, this number was deemed by the researcher to be a representative sample of the total population.
When course titles were grouped into ten subject categories for comparison, a category distinct from appreciation and music fundamentals was deemed necessary by the experts for "Introduction to Music" courses since they may include music reading, listening, history and appreciation components. The results showed that a majority of online music courses (42 percent; N = 64) were currently offered in the area of "Music Appreciation" with other areas less emphasized (See Table 1).
| Table 1. Distribution of Online College Music Courses by Subject 2001 |
|
|---|---|
| Subject Area | Courses (N) |
| Music Appreciation | 64 |
Specialty Topics (N)Jazz/Rock n Roll (14) |
23 |
| Music Theory/Fundamentals | 17 |
| Introduction to Music | 13 |
| Music Education | 13 |
| Technology | 9 |
| Music History | 7 |
| World Music | 4 |
| Research/General Graduate Studies | 4 |
| Performance | 1 |
| Total | 155 |
| Table 2. Schools Offering Online Music Courses for College Credit 2001 |
|
|---|---|
| 4 - Yr Colleges & Universities Arkansas Tech Bemidji State University Black Hawk College Brigham Young University California State University Chico California State University Dominguez Central Michigan University Chicago State University Coastal Bend College College of William & Mary Dallas TeleCollege Dakota State University Duke University Duquesne University East Carolina University East Tennessee State University Eastern Oregon University Emporia State University Fayetteville Technical College Florence Darlington Technical College Florida State University Foothill College Ft. Hayes State University Greenville Technical College Graceland University Illinois State University Indiana University Indiana Wesleyan University Lewis & Clark State College Loyola Marymount Louisiana State University Mary Baldwin College Minot State University Murray State University Naugatauk Valley College New Jersey Virtual University North Idaho State University Northeast Missouri State Northeastern University Northeastern Illinois University Northern Arizona University Northern Kentucky University Northern Michigan College Northern Oklahoma College Ohio University Ohlone College Orange Coast College Parkland College Patten College Penn State University Roane State College Santa Barbara City College South Suburban College Southwest Baptist College State University of New York-Albany Stephen Austin State University Tarrant County College Taylor University Texas Women's University Troy State University University of Arizona University of California Berkeley University of California Santa Barbara University of Charleston University of Delaware University of Hawaii- Manoa University of Kentucky University of Minnesota University of Nevada Reno University of Northern Iowa University of Southern Mississippi University of Texas-Austin University of Wisconsin Utah State University Wayne State College Weber State University West Virginia University West Virginia Wesleyan University Western Illinois University Western Michigan University William Paterson University | Community Colleges Atlantic Community College Atlantic Cape Community College Bucks County Community College Chemeketa Community College Colorado Electronic Community College Community College of Allegheny County Community College of Southern Nevada Danville Area Community College Eastern Shore Community College Enterprise Junior College Front Range Community College Frontline Community College Howard Community College Leeward Community College Lenoir Community College Monroe Community College Maryland Community College New River Community College Niagra Community College North Seattle Community College Northern Virginia Community College Northland Community College Pensacola Junior College Pima Community College Portland Community College Randolph Community College Riverside Community College Schenectady County Community College Seattle Central Community College St. Charles Community College Tacoma Community College Tidewater Community College Virginia Western Community College Western Nevada Community College |
| Table 3. State Distribution of Colleges or Universities Offering Internet Music Courses |
|---|
| Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Hawaii Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Nevada New Jersey New York N. Carolina S. Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin |
The 115 schools found to offer distance learning in music in the present study make up approximately 7 percent of all possible U.S. college and university music departments based on the College Music Society's Directory of Music Faculties in Colleges and Universities, U.S. and Canada 2000. (U.S. schools = 1732). Since related research found that 84 percent of all schools were offering distance learning, it would appear that music departments were not a frequent contributor to these efforts. The 155 music courses found constituted approximately 3 percent of the 52,270 courses online courses nationwide as cited earlier. This is not surprising given the aural nature of our subject matter and the inconsistency of computer sound technology. It is also not surprising given the extensive amount of time necessary to develop and implement online courses. These results do seem to indicate a reluctance to accept distance learning as a viable option by many music faculties.
It appears that the bulk of online instruction is currently aimed at non-major participants with generalized courses in appreciation, music reading and popular courses in jazz or rock music. This is not surprising since these courses traditionally draw a large enrollment. No distinction was made in the present study concerning course levels (undergraduate or graduate) due to the wide variety of course numbering systems across the sample.
Several questions remain for further research concerning the impact of online courses on NASM accreditation and standards, traditional enrollment, and the requisite qualifications of online music faculty. Since much of the course information available on the internet is password protected within a commercial courseware system, no comparisons could be made concerning assessment procedures, content difficulty, course procedures, or the interaction within individual courses.
The birth of internet music courses provides an interesting opportunity to watch the transformation of a new pedagogy. Much of what transpires in traditional college music classrooms is based on first-hand knowledge. Faculty have undergone the process themselves and therefore tend to transmit their coursework in similar ways to their previous experiences as undergraduate or graduate students. Since it is unlikely that faculty of these online music courses have taken an online course themselves, this poses a dilemma as traditional pedagogy is transformed and interpreted through cyberspace delivery. As Thomas Cyrs (2000) stated:
College courses cannot simply be transported from a traditional setting into cyberspace. Teaching at a distance, in real or delayed time, requires instructors to develop communication and organization skills not generally practiced in the traditional classroom.
If the general predictions cited earlier are correct, we will see an increase in the numbers of online course offerings in music. As technology improves and the transmission of sound and video becomes commonplace, we may also see an increase in the numbers of college music courses in subject areas not well represented in this sample (e.g. conducting, performance, master classes, pedagogy).
Is online teaching an effective method of delivering instruction? Schlosser and Anderson (1997) concluded that: 1) with regard to "learner outcomes" distance education is just as effective as traditional education; and 2) distance learners generally have a more favorable attitude toward distance education than traditional learners, and feel as though they are learning just as much in a distance education mode as in a traditional classroom. Moore (1990), as well as Verduin & Clark (1991) cautioned however, that, when comparing distance education to traditional face-to-face instruction, distance education can be as effective as traditional instruction, only when the method and technologies used are appropriate to the instructional tasks, when there is student-to-student interaction, and timely teacher-to-student feedback. Further research regarding learner outcomes in internet music courses is needed before any conclusions or recommendations may be offered concerning equality.
The world has been forever changed by the internet and university music programs will not be immune to those changes. This study provides a baseline of information for future research efforts in this area. As we look to that future, it is important that we plan proactively for the continued expansion of online college music instruction to insure that our mission is enhanced, not compromised, by this exciting new opportunity.
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