Running

head: TEACHING MUSIC TO DIGITAL NATIVES: TITLE PAGE

Teaching Music to Digital Natives:
Effects of Media on Classroom Learning and Teaching
Sarah Moyer
University of Washington


Teaching
Music

Abstract

The following literature review includes research and surveys surrounding the topic of

digital technology use as it relates to cognition, education, health, adolescent development,

classroom teaching, and music. Social media, texting, and constant media exposure has
changed the way young people interact with information and communicate with their peers.
While this change offers new possibilities for student-centered teaching pedagogies, it also has
implications for student health and social well-being. New technologies have been
implemented into education with some hesitation from teachers who, depending on training
and personal preferences, utilize those technologies to varying degrees. Researchers are also
finding that even though there is an abundance of new music technologies and software, music
teachers are slow to implement them into the classroom. Hybrid music classes have been
developed to Interweave music and technology learning throughout the teaching unit, engaging
students to interact with music in a way that is relevant to their everyday experiences.

Definition of Terms
Digital Native: Studentskindergarten through collegewho have grown up during the rapid
dissemination of digital technology in the last decades of the 20th century (Prensky, 2001).
Digital Technology: Term used to describe the use of digital resources to find, create, analyze,
communicate, and use information in a digital context: includes digital media tools,
programming tools, and software applications (Ministry of Education, 2006).


Teaching
Music

Digital Media: Digitized content that can be transmitted over the internet or computer
networks: includes text, audio, video, and graphics (Hopkinson, 2009).
Introduction

Ten years ago I was using a payphone and a landline. I stopped and asked for directions

when I was lost. I bought CDs to keep up on the latest music. As a twenty-nine year old, I find it
astonishing that my adolescent experience differs so dramatically from the millennial
generation. In a 2015 survey from the Pew Research Center, 56% of teens living in the U.S.
reported going online several times a day and 24% reported being online almost constantly.
Constant access to the Internet is facilitated by the use of smartphones, which 75% of teens
reported owning. A typical teen sends and receives 30 texts a day using his or her phone plan,
and that is not including texts sent from applications like Kik or WhatsApp (Lenhart, 2015). The
digital world has exploded within the past few years and the implications for education are
vast. Not only have new technologies influenced the methods and means by which teachers
teach, they have also changed the ways in which young learners learn.

Within the small pool of research regarding digital technologys effect on cognition,

neuroscientists are finding that the processes by which people interact with information are
changing. Smartphones and personal computers allow access to unlimited amounts of
information at any time. To understand the effects of digital media on the brain, Small (2009)
conducted two MRI scans: one while the participant read a book and one while the participant
browsed the Internet. He found that browsing the Internet created twice the amount of brain
activity in the frontal lobe than reading a book. Neurologists have recently come to the


Teaching
Music

conclusion that brain cells are constantly regenerating, demonstrating what is called neural
plasticity. Basically, the brain changes its structure depending on how it is used. When a person
forms habits of partial focus, as in browsing the Internet, it becomes much more difficult to
maintain the sustained focus necessary for practicing or performing music (Helding, 2011).
Helding stressed the importance of knowing whom we are teaching: Understanding the
cognitive implications of technology is essential for teaching the new tribe of digital natives (p.
200). So, do music educators meet students where they are? Do they supplement the
traditional classroom music experience with video clips and computer games to cater to
students interests and their shorter attention spans?

Integrating digital technologies into the music classroom has the potential to facilitate

active and holistic learning experiences. Before the advent of music recordings, music was
primarily experienced cross-modally, through sound and sight. During live performances visual
information plays an important role in the musical experience (Schutz, 2009). While sound
reproducing machines, from phonographs to I-Pods, have reduced music to simply its auditory
components, other technology is able to restore it to the multidimensional art form that it is.
Webb (2010) developed a new kind of music listening that utilizes adolescents screen literacy
combined with the growing phenomenon of clip culture to create opportunities for music
analysis and interpretation. Clip-culture is a phenomenon developed from video sharing sites
like Youtube and is generally used as diversionary entertainment. In the classroom, these video
clips allow students to visualize what they are hearing in the music, and provides a new way for
understanding musical processes and structures (Webb, 2010).


Teaching
Music

Digital technology is a significant and growing part of todays society. Understanding

how it directly and indirectly influences music education is essential for music educators and
school administrators. Throughout the literature review I will explore the topic of digital
technology within the contexts of classroom learning, social implications and mental health,
and music education. This review of relevant research is intended to help inform music
educators of pedagogical challenges and benefits of using digital technology in their teaching.
Learning and Digital Technology

Integrating digital technologies into education has coincided with a shift in pedagogical

philosophy. Wise, Greenwood, and Davis (2011) followed the teaching practices of nine
secondary music educators in New Zealand. The purpose of their study was to examine the
perceptions of music educators on using digital technology in their classrooms. They found that
all nine teachers incorporated a high level of digital technology into their teaching, and that
each teacher demonstrated a shift from an instructavist to a constructavist pedagogical
philosophy. Utilization of music technologies such as GarageBand, Sibelius, and Youtube
facilitated student-centered activities, rather than traditional teacher-directed activities.

Goad (2012) conducted further research on teacher perceptions of using digital

technology as a teaching tool. Commenting on the current pedagogical shift, she writes that
teachers are no longer responsible for transferring information, but rather for leading students
to find accurate and relevant information for themselves. Considering the issue of low student
engagement, Goad researched the use of cell phone technology as a means for aiding
independent learning in the classroom. A survey of 500 teachers from the Midwest was taken
in order to gather teachers perceptions regarding the relationship between student


Teaching
Music

engagement and technology use in the classroom. The majority of teachers agreed that
students are more motivated, show higher levels of learning, and are more collaborative when
technology is integrated into their lessons. However, only 28.5 % of the teachers surveyed in
Goads study incorporated cell phones into their teaching. The low percentage is partially due
to teacher perceptions of cell phone use and school policies that prohibit cell phones in class.

In a study on student perspectives of cell phones in the classroom, Humble-Thaden

(2012) found that 77.9% of students were in favor of using cell phones in class as educational
tools. The high school juniors and seniors reported that they would use cell phones to receive
feedback from teachers, participate in surveys, complete educational activities, access
homework help from peers, and collaborate for group projects.

This kind of communication through personal media devices (PMB) has the potential to

create the greatest shift toward student-centered learning. Peck, Hewitt, Mullen, Lashley,
Elridge, and Douglas (2015) explored how implementation of information and communication
technologies (ICT) in the classroom affected the educational experiences of high school
students. While teachers often used ICT to support older teacher-centered practices, they
found that utilization of PMB was most affective at bridging the gap between digital youth and
their brick and mortar schools (p 15). Integrating ICT in the schools also led to the
development of three types of students: Digital Rebels, Cyber Wanderers, and eLearning
Pioneers. Digital Rebels used technology to silently or overtly contest school norms and
authority, Cyber Wanderers roamed between real and virtual words, often easily succumbing to
distractions, and eLearning Pioneers were self-motivated, independent learners who paced
their own learning and participated in a mixture of online and traditional classes (Peck et al.,


Teaching
Music

2015).

While the eLearning Pioneer typology shows a picture of the ideal student of the digital

age, the two other typologies reveal some of the new challenges of the online and PBM-
inclusive classroom. The philosophical shift in pedagogy and students growing interest and
engagement in digital technology implies a trend toward further inclusion of digital technology
in education. While many researchers found that this inclusion is likely to enhance learning
from a pedagogical standpoint, further understanding is needed on the type of class
environment such an inclusion might invoke. The social uses of cell phones and the Internet are
an ever-present enticement for young people. How do teachers respond to digital rebellion and
cyber wandering, especially when transgressions are done secretly or anonymously? Does the
potential for learning outweigh the potential for distraction? Does using digital media in class
marginalize those students who do not have the financial means or choose not to follow the
digital trends, and then skew the outcomes of media-enhanced instruction toward the
privileged students?
Digital Technology, Social Implications, and Mental Health

Implications for students digital media use inside and outside the classroom are

important considerations for teachers. How students interact with digital media outside the
classroom is likely to influence their experience with media in the classroom. To understand the
phenomenon of teenagers and cell phones in the classroom, Tysowski (2013) conducted a
hermeneutic-phenomenological inquiry. In narrative form, she explored the implications of cell
phone use in her own classroom. The purpose of her study was to gain a deeper understanding
of how to teach students who are growing up with smart technology. Through observations and


Teaching
Music

interpretations she found that cell phones are an integral part of teenagers identities. Every
picture, application, ring-tone, phone case, and contact is suited to the individuals personality,
needs, and desires. The greatest fear and the greatest threat to most young people today is
the loss of their cell phonesphones ARE their lives (p. 97).

This interconnection of technology and identity in adolescents has fostered a new

cultural identity developed around text messaging (Tulane, 2012). Much like any form of
communication, there are rules that guide the process, including when and where it is
appropriate to text. In her research on the social experience of adolescent text-messaging,
Tulane (2012) found that text-messaging was perceived by students as a safer way to build a
relationship than face-to-face communication. She also found that pretending to text was used
as an avoidance tactic and a way of keeping up appearances. Students reported pretending to
text in order to avoid awkward situations, people that they did not want to talk to, or simply
out of boredom. When students wanted to present themselves positively to their peers, they
pretended to text to give the impression of popularity (Tulane, 2012).

Text-messaging has become a social tool that is embedded in the lives of adolescents,

and for some it has taken precedence over face-to-face interactions (Tulane, 2012). Middle
school students who went five days without text-messaging or looking at any kind of digital
screen were found to be able to read human emotions much better than students who
continued to interact with screens for hours a day (Uhls et al., 2014).

According to a national survey in 2009, adolescents between ages 8-18 were reported

spending an average of 7.5 hours a day using some form of media (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts,
2010). A quarter of that time was spent using multiple media devices at the same time, totaling


Teaching
Music

10 hours and 45 minutes of media exposure in a day (Brown & Bobkowski, 2011). A recent
study measured the association between adults digital media use and the rate of self-reported
depression. Using preexisting data from the Media Behavior and Influence Study conducted in
2012, researchers performed a descriptive statistical analysis including correlations between
depression and media consumption. Media was further specified into three categories:
television consumption, Internet consumption, and social media consumption. The results
indicated low but significant positive linear correlations between media consumption and self-
reported depression in all three categories (Block et al., 2014). In light of this correlation,
adolescents high consumption of digital media is cause for concern.

Other well-documented risks concerning adolescents use of digital media include

addiction, anxiety, social maladjustment, aggressive behaviors, cyberbullying, poor body image,
eating disorders, unhealthy sexual behaviors, and sleep disorders (Brown & Bobkowski, 2011;
Singer D. G., & Singer, J. L., 2001; Zimmerman, 2008). Factors contributing to these risks include
exposure to violent images, sexual content, advertisements, cultural models of beauty (Brown,
2011; Singer, D. G., & Singer, J. L., 2001), as well as exposure to various other content that
influence how children perceive themselves and the world. Adolescents today have access to
much more information than they did twenty years ago. Teaching these digital natives entails
understanding the world in which they live, and being sensitive to the challenges they face of
sifting through large amounts of subliminally and consciously received information throughout
the day.
Music and Digital Technology

Music ensemble teachers are faced with new decisions regarding which music


Teaching
Music

technologies, if any, to use in the classroom. The current National Standards for Ensemble
Music Education, as delineated by the National Association for Music Education, involve
students selecting, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and presenting through creating,
performing, and responding to music (National Standards for Music Education, 2014). In
ensemble classes structured around learning repertoire for performances, addressing all
national standards and assessing them can prove a difficult task. A multitude of new music
technologies are available to assist in student assessment and independent music making.

MIDI keyboards are being used in high school music programs for composing and

arranging music, helping develop improvisation skills, improving keyboard literacy, and teaching
basic music theory (Reninger, 2000). Programs like Sibelius and Finale facilitate traditional
music notation learning through composition and have been shown to improve music reading
skills. GarageBand is music software that uses prerecorded loops for composition, a tool helpful
for beginning music students who are auditory learners. Youtube is another popular tool used
in the music classroom to illustrate different performance practices (Wise, 2011). Technology
specifically geared to the choral classroom has also been developed within the last few years.
The American Choral Directors Association website now features nearly fifty links to different
choral music software where vocal technique, drill and practice, theory, ear training,
composition, music library, choral rehearsal, and even seating chart software are available to
choral directors and their students (Music Software, 2014).

Many of these software programs include features that allow educators to individually

assess students musical ability. While research shows that individual assessment improves
student sight-singing performance (Demorest, 1998), a survey of the southwest region of the

10


Teaching
Music

United States showed that ensemble directors weighted individual grades more heavily on non-
achievement criteria like attendance, participation, and attitude (Russell & Austin, 2010). With
researchers advocating the importance of student assessment and ample digital resources
available to music educators, why are teachers slow to utilize these assessment technologies?

In a survey comparing teachers beliefs about music technology, training with music

technology, and use of music technology in the classroom, the researcher found that
technology-assisted learning was considered by most teachers in the study to be valuable in
performance courses. However, the teachers rarely implemented technology-assisted learning
software for personal use, instructional use, or student use. Training in music technology,
resources available to effectively integrate music technology, and comfort level with music
technology were all predictors of teachers use of music technology (Sorah, 2012).

While many music software and digital programs exist to support music learning, how a

teacher implements the technologies into their classrooms impacts the learning focus. Tobias
(2016) offers a hybrid approach to digital media use in the music classroom. In this approach,
technology is embedded throughout the music class it is neither the focus, nor is it used only
for specific tasks like music theory instruction and notation reading. Educators modify or
transform their pedagogy and curriculum to integrate technology and digital media in ways that
are flexible, contextual, and connected to the diverse ways that people engage with music (p.
115). Music technology skills are learned within the context of a broader musical focus. For
example, students may engage in a group project to complete a musical task (composition,
arrangement) using digital resources, or projects could emerge out of students own
experimentation and musical play with said resources.

11


Teaching
Music

The above research and pedagogical literature shows that music educators have plenty

of options with regard to implementing digital technology into their teaching. With sufficient
training and resources, educators can use new music technologies to teach musical skills, plan
rehearsals, individually assess students, and allow students to guide their own learning through
experimentation and play. What is lacking in the research is how these new technologies
influence the classroom environment. While research indicates that pedagogical shifts can take
place when using digital technology in the classroom, there is little research on whether or not
this changes the nature of student-teacher relationships and patterns of communication.
Discussion

Just as every classroom of individuals creates a culture within itself, so does every new

generation of learners create social processes and communication patterns for teachers to
learn and adapt to. Literature on digital media and learning indicates that the classroom is in a
process of practical and systemic change. Old school teacher-centered pedagogy is creating a
disconnect between students high tech worlds and their experiences in the classroom, yet
utilizing digital media (i.e. students cell phones) in the classroom creates a host of new
challenges for educators.

The digital world in which adolescents live is a complicated place. Young peoples

fluency in digital technology has opened up an array of pedagogical possibilities within the
classroom. However, there is also evidence that adolescents pattern of excessive digital media
use may increase risks of mental and social disorders. Music technologies are providing
students with more opportunities to create, compose, understand, and practice music, and
providing teachers with tools for assessment and time management. Still, limited resources

12


Teaching
Music

(sometimes due to costs that are beyond the reach of some schools) and teachers lack of
training in music technology has prevented these technologies from being fully integrated into
music classrooms.

Further research regarding the effects of digital technology on the music classroom will

be helpful for educators as they adapt their classrooms to cater to a new generation of
learners. Questions like, what is the current role of digital technology in the music classroom,
how do students respond to traditional teaching methods versus the use of digital media as a
tool for teaching, and how does digital media effect classroom climate are important topics to
consider. In a society that is perpetually changing and becoming more high tech, it is imperative
that music education remains relevant. Educators and researchers should continue to discover
effective ways of implementing new technologies, while considering the many complex and
nuanced implications for student learning.
References
Block, M., Stern, D. B., Kalyan, R., Sang, L., Carey, J., Humphreys, A.A., Mulhern, F., Calder, B.,
Schultz, D., Rudick, C.N., Blood, N.J., & Breiter, H.C. (2014). The relationship between self-
report of depression and media usage. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 8(1662-5161).
Retrieved from
http://www.frontiersin.org/Journal/Abstract.aspx?s=537&name=human_neuroscience&A
RT_DOI=10.3389/fnhum.2014.00712

13


Teaching
Music

Brown, J. D., & Bobkowski, P. S. (2011). Older and newer media: Patterns of use and effects on
adolescents' health and well-being. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(1), 95-113.
Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2011-
03357-008&site=ehost-live http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00717.x
Demorest, S.M. (1998). Improving sight-singing performance in the choral ensemble: The effect
of individual testing. Journal of Research in Music Education, 46, 182-92. Retrieved from
http://jrm.sagepub.com/content/46/2/182.full.pdf+html
Ministry of Education (2006). Enabling the 21st century learner: An e-learning action plan for
schools 2006-2010. Wellington New Zealand: Ministry of Education. Retrieved from
http://www.nzceta.co.nz/pages/digital_technologies.htm
Goad, K. D. (2012). The perception of teachers toward the use of mobile technology as a tool to
engage students in learning. (Ph.D., Indiana State University). ProQuest Dissertations and
Theses, Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1015628727?accountid=14784
Helding, L. (2011). Digital natives and digital immigrants: Teaching and learning in the digital
age. Journal of Singing, 68(2), 199-206. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=525580777&site=ehost
-live
Hopkinson, Russ. A Brief History of Digital Media. Threeminds. 13 Oct. 2009. Web. 6 Apr. 2011.
Retrieved from

14


Teaching
Music

http://threeminds.organic.com/2009/10/a_brief_history_of_digital.html|http://threemind
s.organic.com/2009/10/a_brief_history_of_digital.html>
Lenhart, Amanda. (2015). Teens, Social Media & Technology. Retrieved from Pew Research
Center, Pew Internet & American Life Project:
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/
Music Software. (2014). American Choral Directors Association. Retrieved from
http://www.choralnet.org/list/resource/1903
National Standards for Music Education. (2014). National Association for Music Education.
Retrieved from http://musiced.nafme.org/resources/national-standards-for-music-
education/
Peck, C., Hewitt, K., Mullen, C., Lashley, C., Elridge, J., Douglas, T. (2015) Digital youth in brick
and mortar schools: examining the complex interplay of students, technology, education,
and change. Teaching College Record, 117(5). Retrieved from
http://www.tcrecord.org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/library/
Prensky, Mark (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1. On the Horizon, Vol. 9 Iss: 5,
pp.1-6. Retrieved from
http://www.nnstoy.org/download/technology/Digital%20Natives%20-
%20Digital%20Immigrants.pdf
Reninger, R.D. (2000). Music education in the digital world. Teaching Music, Vol. 8 Iss: 1, p.24

15


Teaching
Music

Rideout, V., Foehr, U. G., & Roberts, D. F. (2010). Generation M2: Media in the lives of 8 18
year-olds. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED527859.pdf

Russell, J.A. & Austin, J.R. (2010). Assessment practices of secondary teachers. Journal of
Research in Music Education, 58(1) 37-54. Retrieved from
http://faculty.washington.edu/sjmorris/305/Russell_Austin.pdf
doi:10.1177/0022429409360062
Schuts, M. (2008). Seeing music? What musicians need to know about vision. Empirical
Musicology Review. 3(3), 83-108.
Singer, D. G., & Singer, J. L. (2001). Handbook of children and the media. Thousand Oaks, Calif:
Sage Publications.
Small, Gary. (2009, Sep). Your brain on google. Digital Nation. Retrieved from
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation (accessed November 2014)
Sorah, D. W., Jr. (2012). The effects of music teacher beliefs, training, and resources on use of
technology. (Ph.D., The Florida State University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses,
Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/docview/1034742130?accounti
d=14784

16


Teaching
Music

Teen and Young Adult Media Use (2009). Millennials: a portrait of generation next. Retrieved
from Pew Research Center, Pew Internet & American Life Project:
http://www.pewresearch.org/millennials/teen-internet-use-graphic/
Tobias, Evan (2016). Learning with digital media and technology in hybrid music classrooms.
Teaching general music: approaches, issues, and viewpoints, 112-140. Oxford University
Press.
Tulane, S. S. (2012). Social implications of adolescent text messaging. (Ph.D., Utah State
University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/docview/1015668699?accounti
d=14784
Tysowski, N. A. (2013). Personal cell phones in a high school classroom: A teacher hermeneutic-
phenomenological inquiry. (M.A., University of Calgary (Canada)). ProQuest Dissertations
and Theses, Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1475268322?accountid=14784
Uhls, Y.T., Michikyan, M., Morris, J., Garcia, D., Small, G., Zgourou, E., Greenfield, P.M. (2014).
Five days at outdoor education camp without screens improves preteen skills with
nonverbal emotion cues. Computers in human behavior, 387-392. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563214003227
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.05.036

17


Teaching
Music

Webb, M. (2010). Re viewing listening: "clip culture" and cross-modal learning in the music
classroom. International Journal of Music Education, 28(4), 313-340. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ903787&site=ehost-
live; http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0255761410381821
Wise, S., Greenwood, J., & Davis, N. (2011). Teachers' use of digital technology in secondary
music education: Illustrations of changing classroom. British Journal of Music Education,
28(2), 117-134. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2011
-13512-001&site=ehost-live http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0265051711000039
Zimmerman, F.J. (2008) Childrens media use and sleep problems: Issues and unanswered
questions. Research Brief. Henry Kaiser Family Foundation. ED527857. Retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/fulltext/ED527857.pdf

18