Robert W. Placek, University of Georgia

This article reports upon a project which hopes to meet the needs of upper elementary or middle school students interested in learning about the instruments of the symphony orchestra.The instruction program utilizes a system known as hypermedia; that is, a sytem which not only has the student interacting with a computer but with some other media device as well, in order to learn something about a given subject.

The development of technology allows educators to construct computer-assisted programs of instruction that may interact with CD-ROM discs, video tapes, MIDI-controlled instruments, videodiscs, digitized sounds, and even movies. And while there are, indeed, quite a few excellent hypermedia programs available commercially, this article will report upon a newly-developed instructional program in music which represents the kind of personalized product that educators should be able to design for particular student populations with whom they work. Peters (1993) reports that through the authoring systems now available the development time for teacher-generated materials has lessened. Placek (1992) found that students working with a program in music appreciation which utilized a computer-controlled random-access audio device were able to improve significantly when placing music examples into historical periods. Woodruff (1990) found that students improved significantly on standard music appreciation examinations after working with a personalized videodisc program of instruction.

The program, Instruments of the Symphony Orchestra, utilizes an authoring tool called Authorware, for Macintosh computers. It is a high-level authoring system which relies greatly on the power of organizing icons visually rather than upon extensive scripting or programming language application. The program also utilizes a single disc-side of the prize-winning University of Delaware Videodisc Music Series, available for educational use since the 1980s when its development was supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (Hofstetter, 1988).

Most importantly, the program was designed to elicit selected behaviors appropriate for a particular population of students (upper elementary or middle school, grades 3-8). In this descriptive study, the program will be explained in terms of design and objectives. Additionally, the trial of the program by a bright third grade student will be reported upon in terms of the operational condition of the program, the student's responses while trying the program, and the student's opinion of the program's worth.

Objectives fall into two categories: first, the student will demonstrate the ability to identify instruments of the symphony orchestra by responding to audio-visual performances; second, the student will demonstrate an ability to answer questions related to the playing and construction of symphonic instruments.

The hypermedia authoring tool used for this project, Authorware, supplies a vast array of colors, fonts, and special effects for exiting frames, and easily accepts color visuals that are stored or scanned into accessible collections. So throughout the program, visually attractive displays are used, but never, hopefully, interfering with the educational process (chiefly, by wasting time). The first frame of the program appears with a blue background as the title page "Review of Instruments of the Symphony Orchestra". When the student clicks on CONTINUE, the display "fades" quickly to the second frame. The second frame instructs the student to READ (textual information which appears on the computer screen), LOOK (at the TV monitor which shows the instrumentalists playing), and LISTEN (to the music which issues from the TV speaker). The student is also oriented to contents of the Main Menu which appears in the third frame.

The Main Menu (Figure 1) can be accessed throughout the program and contains five "lessons": L1. Review of the Instruments; L2. More Review of Instruments; L3. Test on Sights and Sounds; L4. More Tests on Sights and Sounds; and L5. Test on Knowledge of the Instruments.

Figure 1.

L1. Review of the Instruments and L2. More Review of Instruments branches the student to two frames where, in each, there are lists of 12 instruments (Figure 2 ). By clicking on the instruments, the student is treated to an audio-visual performance on the instrument selected by young players of the University of Delaware. The performances are accessed instantly from on of the videodiscs created available on the UD Videodisc Music Series. A videodisc player is, of course, in operation, but it is seldom noticed by the students, since everything seems to emanate directly from the TV screen. Additionally a computer frame with text appears and describes the instrument being played. Potentially, new vocabulary words (glissando, vibrato, woodwind, etc.) are highlighted in a new color and explicated with additional text below in the new color . The student may move quickly back to L1 or L2, for clicking on CONTINUE will take the student back to the instrument list, and selecting a new instrument will interrupt the music of the old instrument if it is still playing.

L3 and L4, accessed from the Main Menu, are called Test on the Sights and Sounds of the Instruments and More Tests on the Sights and Sounds. There are eight problems in L3 and twelve in L4. The instructional routine is multiple choice. Typically (Figure 3) the student sees and hears the player and clicks on 1 of 5 choices. The students is encouraged to keep clicking, for he may receive additional information or hints. For scoring purposes, however, only the right answer on the first try counts. Returning to the Main Menu, the student may click on SEE SCORES and receive a score in terms of so many "out of 8" ore "out of 12" as well as a percentage score.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Except for an excerpt of string quartet music and a opportunity to review the performance of woodwind instruments, L5 does not use musical examples. It is called Test on Knowledge of the Instruments and concentrates on the instruments of the woodwind quintet and string quartet. And while L1-L4 asks for responses to pictures and sounds, L5 asks for responses to written text. There are five questions in which the student types out the name of the missing fifth instrument of the woodwind quintet, five questions related to a textual description, and a scanned visual of instrument mouth-pieces (Figure 4) and four questions related to the string quartet and its instruments. Proper spelling is required on first tries (two tries are allowed before the answer is given), and scores are accessible as described in L3 and L4.

A bright young third grader was selected from the public schools to try the program. The experience was a delight for everyone concerned. The session was videotaped and consisted of 8 minutes of orientation, 35 minutes of student work on the program, and 7 minutes of interview and conversation. The student had no problems comprehending the structure or branchings available in the program; he was comfortable with using the mouse, for he uses a computer at home; and was fairly good at typing "hunt and peck" style. After the orientation, the third grader was left alone for the most part and did not ask questions related to which keys he should press or buttons upon which he should click. The student occasionally emitted expressions of pleasure when he did a hard problem correctly or regret when he missed an easy problem; the overall mood was that of concentration and enjoyment. He occasionally tried to elicit hints from the interviewer concerning spelling but to no avail.

During the interview, asked if he thought he learned something, he affirmed enthusiastically and elaborated on how he now understood the difference between the clarinet and the oboe. Asked what he liked best, he responded quickly mentioning the examples of individuals he could see playing the instruments on the TV monitor. Asked if there was anything he did not like elicited the response that he could think of nothing he did not like. He responded enthusiastically in the affirmative when asked if he enjoyed the experience.

The program, as tried with a single bright third grader, seemed to function without any instances of faulty operation. From the observations of the interviewer and from the statements of the student the program was instructive, enjoyable and very positively reinforcing. Whether the program will work well with other age groups or with students who are less talented than this student remains to be seen.

In the next phase of this project, the author intends to administer pre- and post-tests to approximately thirty fifth graders for the purpose of determining whether learning, in specific terms, takes place as a result of short sessions with the program. In the pre- and post-tests, students will basically be asked (1) questions about the instruments related to how sound is produced and how the instruments are constructed and played and (2) if they can identify instruments (a) by sound alone, (b) by sight alone, and (c) by sight and sound.