Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Western Red and Black-and-white Colobus monkeys: Curious in an ongoing way about PRACTICING/playing a musical instrument with great enjoyment ... and beginning to explore how computer applications might inform this in new ways, Applying the new successful DragonBox Algebra computer application insights into learning math to practicing?, And what can one do as a teacher with the following DragonBox principles in real life lessons, and in teaching daily playing with great enjoyment?, A real life example of recent enjoyable practicing playing the piano / keyboard for Scottish Country Dancing e.g. playing harmony is fun, etc., Applying the DragonBox Algebra computer App principles to a hypothetical practicing computer application using the College of Piping Tutors as an example, Music Playing Spaces online


Curious in an ongoing way about PRACTICING/playing a musical instrument with great happiness, enjoyment, and in very flourishing and generative ways, as a form of play especially ... and beginning to explore how computer applications might inform this in new ways as well.


I'm also curious about applying the new successful DragonBox Algebra computer application insights into learning (see below) math, to practicing and learning bagpiping or any musical instrument.


Could WUaS design a music practicing application building on the College of Piping tutor with CDs etc., (http://shop.collegeofpiping.org/tutor-books), for example? (And how to build on the Suzuki Method in similar ways for violin and piano, etc.?)

And what can one do as a teacher with the following DragonBox principles in giving real life music lessons, and also in teaching daily playing with great enjoyment?


*

As a real life example of recent enjoyable practicing, I've been enjoying playing the piano / keyboard for Scottish Country Dancing in Berkeley, CA for around 2 years for 2 hours on Monday evenings, because ...

playing harmony is fun

playing is social

playing is for dancers, and part of a bigger whole

learning and developing further from playing the sheet music that is shared anew every week is enjoyable

the musical vision of the musicians is inspiring

music-making is in real time


*

In what ways could one do this online besides in "Music Playing Spaces"  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX79AzS-c4Q and http://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2012/06/bilva-music-playing-spaces-online-and.html - (and which idea I've blogged about numerous times here) in Google + group video Hangouts for example?


*

In terms of practicing vis-a-vis DragonBox Algebra principles for design in learning (see below), and the above, and in a possible computer application (using the College of Piping Tutor as a hypothetical building block)?


- Students learn more when they are engaged. 

SM: Make the interface and the specific goals in practicing a specific tune varied and engaging. 


- The most important factor to learning is feedback. 

SM: Develop feedback in imaginatively connecting ways (as if with a teacher, who can offer specific, unique to the playing feedback); DragonBox Algebra uses pictures of different kinds of dragons as feedback. 


- Feedback should be immediate to be effective. 

SM: An App and a teacher can make the feedback immediate, and an app can offer this without the teacher; build on DragonBox Algebra's feedback but specifically for practicing a musical instrument.


To feel mastery is key to staying motivated. 

SM: build learning with pedagogical 'building blocks' in an app; the CoP Tutor offers such building blocks as one example to build from for piping.


- Students should be presented with challenges that match their level of mastery. 

SM: In an hypothetical Piping App the CoP Tutor again offers such building blocks as one example to build from for piping.


- Students should be assessed in a formative, non-intrusive way. 

SM: Build on the DragonBox Algebra App's approaches to assessment, but practicing a musical instrument is a different process 


- A safe environment is the key to learning. 

SM: A practicing app, like the DragonBox Algebra can be safe.


- Peer learning is very effective. 

SM: Does the DragonBox Algebra App engage peer learning; add a Google plus group video peer component.


- Discovery or experiential learning is much more effective than instructional-based teaching. 

SM: New sheet music every week for playing music for Scottish Country Dancing (in the example above) offers a kind of discovery or experiential learning approach to practicing. 


- Students learn differently and at different paces. 

SM: Such an music-practicing App will develop in novel ways for students that learn differently and at different paces. 


- The language we use to teach mathematics is a barrier to understanding.

SM: Take music lessons with a variety of pipng (music) teachers over time to experience and learn from the different language of different teachers; generate your own new language for teaching piping or music.


*

Teachers might communicate in very engaging ways through co-music making and making harmony together approaches informed by these DB principles.


*

(See these recent blog entries, for example -


with these DragonBox learning principles ... 

"The key principles used in designing DragonBox are: 

- Students learn more when they are engaged. 
- The most important factor to learning is feedback. 
- Feedback should be immediate to be effective. 
To feel mastery is key to staying motivated. 
- Students should be presented with challenges that match their level of mastery. 
- Students should be assessed in a formative, non-intrusive way. 
- A safe environment is the key to learning. 
- Peer learning is very effective. 
- Discovery or experiential learning is much more effective than instructional-based teaching. 
- Students learn differently and at different paces. 
- The language we use to teach mathematics is a barrier to understanding." 
http://www.dragonboxapp.com/story.html and http://www.dragonboxapp.com/)


(an ongoing inquiry for me - 
http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Practicing_-_Playing_a_Musical_Instrument) even given 'tried and true' approaches to practicing, some of which are referenced on this WUaS Practicing wiki page ...





*

















...




No comments: