I find it fascinating to look back on the craziness of the past few years and how it has drastically changed what we believe about education in regards to online learning. Online learning has existed in some form for decades (originally just the logical next step of traditional distance education) but it had not gained wide usage until the covid-19 pandemic made it a necessity for schools around the world. As a music education student, my classes were completely changed from what I had expected; performance classes became lectures and experimental composition groups, theory classes largely went asynchronous and became a task to do every week, and music education classes became meetings where we would all take turns struggling to do our mock teachings over zoom to a screen with all the cameras off. It was a strange time, but it gave me a lot of free time to explore and develop my other musical interests. Notably, during this time I started playing bass quite a bit and spent a lot more time working on jazz vocabulary and repertoire. I believe online (synchronous and asynchronous) certainly have their merits and can provide benefits, like increased flexibility, but the drawback of not being able to play in large ensembles and losing out on the social aspect of university was difficult to overcome. I would be open to online classes in the future, both as a teacher and a student, but it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of those methods and tailor your course to meet them. 

“Doctor with stethoscope and globe in his hand” by focusonmore.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

As with other professions, it is important for educators to reflect back on the pandemic and be prepared for a similar event in the future. It is important for us to consider what went well, what went poorly, and what new options are available for us. As a music teacher, online learning arguably has the most significant impact on music than any other subject due to almost all music programs being based on real-time collaborative ensemble playing. An online learning environment fundamentally changes the way our classes are run, and naturally affects the content and assessment as well. For me, if we are unlucky enough to have another event that keeps us all isolated (or if I am teaching online for any other reason) I would shift the focus of the class away from performance and repertoire and move it towards (largely inquiry-based) projects. A specific project that I like is an album review, which will allow students a considerable amount of freedom to critique, discuss, and share any album of their choosing; this will help students feel engaged as well as helping to teach valuable skills like discussing subjective matters like artistic expression. Additionally, I would like to do a project where students research the music and biography of various musicians and composers and share them with the class. If you took the time to read all this, I would love to hear what other ideas you have too!