From Near and Far:
Using Web Ð Based Course Management Systems in
College Music Teaching
Case Western
Reserve University & University of Northern Iowa
wbauer@cwre.edu & mishra@uni.edu
In recent years, web Ð based course management systems have become more prominent in colleges and universities throughout the United States. Two of the most popular of these systems are WebCT <http://www.webct.com/> and Blackboard <http://www.blackboard.com/>. While these tools are designed primarily for teaching courses at a distance, they also have application to traditional courses where students are meeting regularly in a face Ð to Ð face setting. This paper provides an overview of WebCT and Blackboard, describing how features common to both of these tools are being used by college music instructor for distance learning courses (WebCT) and to enrich the learning experiences of students in traditional classes (Blackboard).
From Near and Far:
Using Web Ð Based
Course Management Systems in College Music Teaching
Web Ð based course management tools exist to allow instructors to easily create an online presence for their classes. N html or other programming skills are required, with course creation usually being handled through the instructor completing form Ð based templates to develop a professional looking interface. Most of the commercially available online course systems have similar features which typically include areas for general course details such as the syllabus and instructor contact information; communication tools which can be used to create discussion boards, chat rooms, and to email students; the ability to create online quizzes and keep grades in an online grade book; templates to easily create links to web resources; and tools to allow teachers and students to easily share document and other media. This paper will focus on prominent features of these course management systems which are applicable to distance learning and traditional classroom environments. In both the distance learning and traditional settings, the course management tools have been utilized to facilitate communication and collaboration, expand and provide greater access to resources, and implement accountability for students and instructors.
Dr. Mishra is currently using WebCT in a Master of Music in Music Education degree
program that is conducted at a distance from the University of Northern
Iowa. This degree is offered over
the Iowa Communications Network (ICN), a system used to broadcast lessons to
students attending classes in specially equipped classrooms throughout the
state. WebCT enables the
instructor to create a password protected environment which can be utilized to
overcome some of the logistical difficulties with the task that are commonplace
in a traditional classroom, but become more complicated with students who are
distanced from the teacher.
Activities such as handing out assignments and course materials,
collecting assignments, giving tests and quizzes, and allowing for after class
discussions and questions become taske that need extensive planning in distance
learning. WebCT has been used to supplement various graduate courses
including Measurement and Evaluation in Music Education, Research
Methodologies in Music Education, and Developments
and Trends in Music Education.
The Discussion tool (the Bulleting Board tool in previous versions of WebCT has proved particularly useful in the courses to promote dialog on various issues. Students that were recently enrolled in the course Develpments and Trends in Music Education were assigned various philosophical readings, writing personal reactions to the reading that served as the basis for class discussion. These reactions were posted online using the WebCT Discussion environment. Since contributions to the Discussion groups are generally public postings, students in a course can read what others have written, responding to each other either publicly of privately. Public responses are threaded to allow everyone to follow the line of thought and contribute to the discussion. The instructor can respond to the Discussion postings, giving feedback and even grading the assignment online. Instructor feedback can either be presented as part of the ongoing class discussion or can be a private response to the student.
In an online course, the Discussion tool is an asynchronous form of communication that can replace some of the class interaction that is missing in distance learning settings. In contrast, Chat room discussion is synchronous. Chat allows a web Ð based course to have real Ð time interactions between students. In addition to supporting group discussions, the Chat room tool can be used to conduct virtual office hours.
Disseminating readings and class handouts can be problematic in distance education. Using the web, written assignments and readings can be downloaded and printed by each student on their own computer. Students have instant access to printed information, eliminating the need to rely on the U. S. postal service. Because WebCT is a password protected environment, copyrighted readings can be secured and distributed online.
The flexibility of WebCT Discussion tool allows it to be used not only for threaded online discussions, but also for posting studentsÕ written assignments for everyone to view. For instance a word processing document can be attached to a related Discussion posting. WebCT does provide and Assignment tool that serves a similar function. However, posting to the Discussion area enables everyone in the class to view submissions.
PowerPoint presentations can be submitted via the Discussion tool to be downloaded and viewed by other students in the course. WebCT does provide a special Student Presentation tool. However, this means of presentation requires more knowledge of html than many students possess. Attaching PowerPoint presentations to Discussion postings allows students to do class presentation that might otherwise be impossible in a distance education course.
Another capability of WebCT that has been very useful for distance education courses if the Quiz and Survey tool. Although the ICN allows the teacher to monitor students during testing, disseminating and collecting tests can be problematic when students are not in the same place as the teacher. In the past, tests have been mailed in sealed envelopes, faxed to the studentsÕ classrooms, or viewed over the television monitors. In each case, serious drawbacks arose. Fax machines were not available in all classrooms and distributing a large number of tests was time consuming. Mailing tests required advanced planning and a contingency plan if tests did not arrive. The visual quality of written material over the monitor was often insufficient; and this option did not allow students to progress through the test at their own pace. Submitting tests to the teacher required either the use of a fax machine, or was delayed since the tests had to be mailed to the instructor.
To overcome some of these challenges, WebCTÕs Quiz and Survey tool has been used with the course Projects in Music Education, a class primarily concerned with measurement and evaluation musical experiences. The flexibility of the Quiz and Survey tool on WebCT allows for customization of the assessment in many different ways. The test may consist of selected Ð responses as well as constructed Ð response items. WebCT can be programmed to grade the exams or email the answers to the instructor for grading. Tests can be timed or offered only on certain computers to reduce the possibility of cheating, and the instructor can limit the time frame during which the test is available. Teachers can also develop a set of test items from which the computer can randomly select questions. In addition, options are available to select the number of times a student is allowed to retake the exam.
Dr. Bauer has used Blackboard in music education classes that meet in traditional settings.
These courses have included the undergraduate classes Foundations of Music Education, Administration of School Music Programs, Technology Ð Assisted Music Teaching and Learning, Student Teaching in Music, and the graduate level classes Research in Music Education I and II.
While students enrolled in these classes met regularly in Ð
person and engaged in tradition classroom activities such as lecture,
demonstrations, discussions, etc.; their experience in these courses was
enriched through alternative instructional strategies involving Blackboard.
To develop a course in the Blackboard environment, the instructor accesses the Control Panel. In the Control Panel, the instructor chooses the areas to be made available within the Blackboard web site. Default sections of Blackboard include Announcements, Course Information, Faculty Information, Textbooks, Course Material, Assignments, Communication, and External Links. Each of these areas can be disabled or enabled. The option to secure sections of the course allows some areas to be opened to guests (for example students browsing a course to see if theyÕd be interested in taking it) while other parts of the course can only be accessed by students enrolled in the class. This feature is good for protecting instructor Ð developed content and other copyrighted materials.
Blackboard allows the course developer a small degree of customization over the style and color of buttons used. Self Ð developed course banners can also be uploaded to display on the opening page of the course site. Individual sections of Blackboard are developed by completing form Ð like templates. Blackboard does recognize html, so it can be used to customize these sections. It is a good practice to develop major content in a transportable format (html, MS Word, PDF) so that it can be easily moved between courses, and between semesters of the same course.
The communication tools available within Blackboard are a strength of the system. Options are available for asynchronous and synchronous communication in a variety of formats including bulleting boards, email, and a virtual classroom. Dr Bauer has moved some discussion Ð based assignments from the face Ð to Ð face class environment to the bulleting board discussion forum. This has freed up class time for other valuable activities. The bulletin board has also been useful for students to reflect on class readings. A goal of the music teacher education program is to develop reflective practitioners, so it is important to provide many opportunities for students to practice the reflective process.
The bulleting board can also come in handy if a regular class is suddenly cancelled. As an example, on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, evening classes were not held following the terrorist attacks on the United States. This was a night the graduate level research was scheduled to meet; a course that convenes only once per week. Missing a class would put the students behind in accomplishing the many course objectives. So, the discussions that had been planned for class that evening were moved to the Blackboard bulleting board, and documents students needed were distributed by posting them online within Blackboard. This enabled the class to remain relatively on track and maintain the pre Ð established course calendar of assignments and activities.
Finally, the bulletin board forum of Blackboard has be utilized to hold an online debated between two teams of class members. Students were randomly assigned to pro and con positions dealing with the issue of competition in music education. As individuals and teams they had to support their position and rebut the other teamÕs position. Students made use of course readings and other relevant materials during the debate period, which lasted approximately two weeks. Interestingly, in all of the online discussion Ð based assignments the quality of student postings was quite high, perhaps because they were aware others (including peers) would be reading what they wrote. It was also notable that in some instances students who were not vocal participants in classroom Ð based discussions participated frequently, and with great depth and clarity, in the online forums. It may be that students of a certain learning style of personality type feel more comfortable when they have time to compose their thoughts, or are able to respond in a written, rather than verbal, form.
The Blackboard system has allowed for the easy organization of additional materials to enrich the learning of students. Several valuable music education resources, such as the National Music Standards, are available online. In addition, the university library has an Òelectronic reserveÓ system whereby journal articles and other materials that are often put on reserve within the physical library, can also be placed online as a PDF file in a password protected. Students can then access these items from any computer that is connected to the Internet. Graduate students, in Ð service teachers who are commonly on campus for only a brief time each week, are especially appreciative of the conveniences this provides. By establishing links to both the internal and external resources from with Blackboard, students need only remember the URL of the Blackboard web site to access these materials.
As most college professors would attest, students do not always read materials that are assigned to them. While various strategies can be effective in motivating students to complete reading assignments, the quizzing tool within Blackboard can be utilized for electronic web Ð based reading quizzes. A variety of question types including true/false, multiple choice, multiple answer, fill Ð in Ð the Ð blank, matching and essay questions can be used in Blackboard quizzes. For required readings, online quizzes that students must complete prior to coming to class are developed. The quizzes are Òopen book,Ó however, because they are also timed, students must be familiar with the material prior to taking the quiz. The quizzes are available for students up until class time, at which point they become inaccessible. Each quiz grade then becomes a small part of their overall grade for the class. The end result has been that most students come to class having completed reading assignments.
The tools available within web Ð based course management systems can be useful to college music instructors for classes taught at a distance and in traditional, fact Ð to Ð face settings. In both instances, the present authors have found the web tools valuable in facilitating communication and collaboration, expanding and providing greater access to resources, and implementing accountability for students and instructors. The student reaction to these online tools and resources have been positive (Bauer, 2001). Although all of the tools available within WebCT and Blackboard are available, or can be created, in other ways, the course management systems provide Òone stop shoppingÓ and a relatively easy way to quickly create a course presence on the web. While not a panacea, web Ð based course management systems do serve a useful function in college music teaching.