Date post: | 29-Nov-2014 |
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Part 3. Front-End Analysis Report
Section 1: Characteristics of Participants
Instruction is being designed for general music teachers in School District 109, a
K-8 district comprising four elementary schools and two middle schools in Deerfield,
Illinois. There are currently seven general music teachers in the district, of which I am
one. All six of the other Deerfield teachers took the survey, as did 28 other music
teachers. After the survey window closed, data from the six Deerfield respondents was
manually added to that collected from non-109 respondents, 34 in all.
For purposes of this report, respondent-specific data will be limited to the six
Deerfield teachers and survey data, in general, will reflect all 34 respondents. Complete
survey results may be viewed online:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=FYrfNErZfSuazDt9mMbxPZLMvNGk_2b3kc
cWyapgOIpv0_3d
Participant Years of Experience
Grade Levels
GarageBand Experience
Used a Mac
Before?
Learning Preference
1 More than 15 years
Middle School (6-8)
Beginning User
Yes Instruction in a class or workshop with teacher present along with self-paced materials to complete on my own.
2 Less than 15 years
Primary (K-2)
Intermediate (3-5)
Experienced User
Yes Instruction in a class or workshop with teacher present.
3 More than 15 years
Primary (K-2)
Intermediate (3-5)
Beginning User
Yes Instruction in a class or workshop with teacher present along with self-paced materials to complete on my own. I need time to figure things out so they soak in.
4 11 – 15 years
Primary (K-2)
Intermediate (3-5)
No previous experience
No Instruction in a class or workshop with teacher present along with self-paced materials to complete on my own.
5 More than 15 years
Middle School (6-8)
No previous experience
No Instruction in a class or workshop with teacher present.
6 5 - 10 years Primary (K-2)
Intermediate (3-5)
Experienced User
Yes I like to figure it out by myself. As a last resort, I will read the manual or search for answers to my questions.
Years of Experience
Deerfield teachers are an eclectic group in many ways. Our least experienced
teacher just completed her first year of teaching and our most experienced teacher has
been eligible for retirement for a number of years. Of the four survey participants (12%
of total) with more than 15 years of experience, three of them are from Deerfield. While
50% of learners in the Deerfield group have 15 or more years of teaching experience,
the majority of those who will likely use the materials are teachers with significantly less
experience in the classroom.
Teaching Experience - General Music
Survey participants will teach grades preschool through grade 12 during the 2009-
2010 school year, with the most common grades taught (70%) being grades 3 - 5.
Deerfield percentages are comparable in that Intermediate is the largest sub-group,
followed by Middle School. One Deerfield teacher will teach a preschool special needs
class and none will teach high school, as it is a K-8 district.
Teaching Experience - Other
On the survey, teachers were asked to list any teaching experience outside of
general music. My purpose here was twofold: 1) Even though the survey was
"anonymous" I wanted to be able to match Deerfield teachers with their responses.
Knowing which information went with which learner will help me to address individual
needs more efficiently. 2) Since survey data will be shared on the MusicTechieTeachers
blog, I wanted to provide information that would be of interested to the wider teacher
community. In retrospect, had I worded the question a bit better,
I would have gotten more complete information. It was not always clear whether other
teaching duties listed were in addition to, or in place of, general music and whether or
not duties were concurrent. Respondents listed a variety of instructional duties, most of
which could be enhanced
by use of GarageBand to produce media for class use. Also, many of those responding
have the capability of using GarageBand with their students.
See chart:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/u.boisestate.edu/ccc?key=0AraAQcsMu2HZclRsTG
dDNkY2ZEZ5VTVFSDQ2eXdwMFE&hl=en
Non-music teaching duties listed were children's literature instructor (college level),
dance, drama, elementary classroom teacher, Physical Education, preschool, school
librarian, substitute teacher and YMCA assistant site director.
Computer Experience - Hardware
Participants were asked what type of computers they currently use at school, at
home, and in the past. Since GarageBand software is only available for Mac, it is helpful
to know that how many learners (82% in all) have used a Mac in the past. While the
instruction that is being design assumes that the learner will have the hardware and
software required to complete all tasks, the amount of previous experience learners
have with the hardware and operating system will impact their progress. This area is
one in which data for Deerfield teachers is less similar to the survey
group.
DEERFIELD TEACHERS
Home - Current School - Current In the Past
Mac Only 3 (50%) 0 0 PC Only 3 (50%) 5 (83%) 1 (17%)
Mac and PC 0 1 (17%) 4 (67%) Other 0 0 1 (17%)
OTHER TEACHERS SURVEYED
Home - Current School - Current In the Past
Mac Only 7 (25%) 9 (32%) 0 PC Only 13 (46%) 14 (50%) 4 (14%)
Mac and PC 8 (29%) 5 (18%) 24 (86%) Other 0 0 0
The Deerfield teacher listed as "other" indicated that she currently uses PCs both
at home and at school. Computers she has used in the past are PC, Apple and IBM
mainframe computers. It is interesting to note that while 29% of other teachers use both
Macs and PCs at home, Deerfield teachers seem to have stronger allegiance one way
or the other. None use both Mac and PC at home and they are evenly split between the
two. Not only will these learners be new to GarageBand software, the potential is there
for them to be somewhat resistant to using a Mac.
In regard to computer use in the classroom, 50% of Deerfield teachers and 65% of
all respondents, indicated that computers are used only by the teacher. One Deerfield
teacher (17%) and 26% of all respondents indicated that computers are used by
teachers and students alike. Two of the three respondents, overall, that indicated that
computers are not used in their classrooms (by teacher or students) are from Deerfield.
While that is 9% of all respondents, it represents 33% of Deerfield teachers. This
disparity is likely due, at least in part, to the fact that 76%-82% of all survey participants,
members of the MusicTechieTeacher Ning where the survey link was posted, are self-
proclaimed "techies."
Computer Experience - Software
Survey participants were asked to indicate which types of Mac and PC software
they felt comfortable using. While this information will not directly impact the nature of
the instructional design, it does provide a general impression of the comfort level
learners will have toward learning new software. Those with more limited experience
may find the task of learning new software to be more daunting, while those who
already use a wider variety of software may feel quite at home with the task. A greater
awareness of learner experiences and attitudes will aid in the design create instruction
that will be more appealing.
82% of survey participants indicated that they have used Macs in the past, so one
thing I looked at was the relative ease at which both types of computers were used. In
looking at the number of software programs each participant indicated comfort with, the
total number for both Mac and PC was calculated. Although five of six Deerfield
teachers indicated past experience with both Mac and PC, data related to software use
indicates greater experience with PCs. This is contrasted by data from other teachers in
which those with more PC experience (43%) is very similar in number to those with
more Mac experience (46%). The table below indicates the relative difference between
the number of programs participants are comfortable using on PC and Mac.
Same Number
Difference of One
Difference of Two
Difference Greater
Than Two
More PC
More Mac
Deerfield Only
2 (33%) 2 (33%) 1 (17%) 1 (17%) 3 (50%) 1 (17%)
Other Teachers
3 (11%) 8 (29%) 8 (29%) 9 (32%) 12 (43%)
13 (46%)
The chart below indicates the total number of programs that participants are
comfortable using on Mac and PC. All participants indicated that they are comfortable
using PC software for email and word processing. With PCs being more widely used, it
is not surprising that a greater number of participants are comfortable using at least two
types of PC software.
See chart:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/u.boisestate.edu/ccc?key=0AraAQcsMu2HZckFrMk
h5OE1FZmtVVnpzaW5hSXRoLXc&hl=en
Section 2: Explanation of learning needs discovered
Data show that participants' years of experience teaching and teaching duties are
varied. Although Deerfield teachers surveyed teach only K-8 general and vocal music,
the wider audience must be considered. Designing more "generic" instruction will help
to ensure that it will be appealing to all who may want to learn how to use GarageBand
software. The largest sub-groups taught are grades 3-8, and many teachers teach more
than just general music, so audio examples should be varied to appeal to a somewhat
diverse group of learners.
While most respondents (82%) have used both, survey data show that learners will
likely have more experience and a greater comfort level with a PC than with a Mac.
Instruction will be designed with the assumption that learners have the hardware and
software required, but their experience using Macs will vary greatly between those who
own a Mac and use it at home regularly, those who use Macs only at school, and those
like the Deerfield teachers, who will be new to both Macs and GarageBand. Instruction
is not intended to be a tutorial on how to find your way around a Mac, but cannot take
for granted that learners are experienced Mac users.
While previous data help to create an overall impression of the learner, survey
questions related specifically to GarageBand provide more concrete information upon
which to base instruction. To help determining learner needs, I approached this from
two fronts. First, I asked what participants could already do. Knowing what people are
already comfortable with helped me prioritize tasks and guide the sequencing of
instruction. Data show that32% of survey participants have never used GarageBand,
50% consider themselves beginning users, and 17% consider themselves experienced
users. The Deerfield group is evenly split with two teachers at each level. Those
participants with experience using GarageBand (19 of 34) were asked to indicate tasks
that they felt comfortable completing: 74% felt comfortable importing files from iTunes
and editing files/tracks. 68% felt comfortable using loops and exporting to iTunes, and
58% felt comfortable recording with real and software instrument. The two participants
(both from Deerfield) who indicated "other" said they did not feel comfortable completing
any of the listed tasks.
My second approach to determining learner needs was to include an open-ended
question asking just that. While some responded "all of the above" or "lots," there were
specific tasks that can be addressed. Five of the tasks listed in the previous question
(chart above) were listed as things survey participants wanted to learn and will be
included in the instruction being designed. In addition, respondents listed five things that
they wanted to learn that I had not previously considered:
• Sync up loops better • Improving sound quality • I would like more unit ideas (and more computers) to get kids using Garageband in
concrete ways • Good lesson plans for teaching students • I'm not sure...maybe more complex projects
Syncing loops and improving sound quality can be easily incorporated into instruction.
Unit ideas, lesson plans and more complex projects are outside the score of this
instruction, but additional resources may be included as part of instructional materials.
Section 3: Explanation of learner preferences
Instruction will be in the form of self-paced instructional materials, but learner
preferences can guide how those materials are developed. Participants were asked to
select one of five statements describing their comfort level using computers. While it is
interesting to know how all participants answered this question, I was particularly
interested in the Deerfield group as this is my primary target audience. As expected,
Deerfield teachers do not feel as comfortable as those who are associated with the
MusicTechieTeachers site.
Deerfield Only Survey Total I do not feel comfortable using computers.
1 (17%) 3%
I feel comfortable with the basics (email, word processing).
2 (33%) 9%
I feel comfortable using several types of software.
1 (17%) 21%
I feel comfortable using software and online tools (blogging and Internet, for example).
2 (33%) 69%
I am a technological wiz – the computer is my best friend.
0 6%
I expect that those who will access materials through the MusicTechieTeachers
site will be eager learners seeking out instruction. They have greater experience with
computers in general, and Macs in particular. Because those learners are strewn about
cyberspace, there is no chance that instruction would be anything other that self-paced
independent work. They have more experience using a variety of software and most
(69%) are comfortable using software and online tools. I would expect this group of
learners to have a very positive attitude toward the subject matter and instructional
materials.
The Deerfield group is comprised of two very distinct sub-groups. The three
teachers who already use Macs have the greatest comfort with computers, the most
experience with technology, and have already used GarageBand. Based on
observational data, these three teachers are eager and excited for the new
opportunities that the addition of Macs and GarageBand will have for their classrooms.
They will be very willing learners. The three teachers who have little or no experience
with Macs have the least comfort with computers, the least experience with technology,
and don't use computers in their classrooms. They will likely be a captive audience,
taking part in mandated instruction. While I hope they will also be willing learners, there
is every chance that they may feel overwhelmed and less than eager to tackle this
unfamiliar task. Despite these facts, no one checked "I would rather not learn new
software," so I am hopeful that all learners will have some degree of openness to the
instructional tasks.
For the Deerfield group, it would be my recommendation to the school district that
face-to-face instruction occur. The self-paced instructional materials being developed
could provide the bulk of the instruction and an instructor could be on hand to assist
learners and answer questions. This is in keeping with the learning preferences that
Deerfield teachers indicated on their surveys. Five of the six said they preferred that
teacher-led instruction be part of learning new software. Three of those five, preferred
self-paced instructional materials along with teacher-led instruction. One teacher
indicated that her preference was to figure it out on her own and, as a last resort, read
the manual. If Deerfield teachers are able to work their way through instructional
materials during common meeting time, it would be beneficial to arrange seating so that
home PC users were in close proximity to home Mac users so that help would be near
at hand.
Section 4: Influence on general goals or approach
The tasks, and their sequence, that will comprise instruction were modified from
my original plan based in large part on survey data from teachers with previous
experience using GarageBand. Data from survey participants originally targeted for
instruction (Deerfield) is limited due to the small size of that group, so it was
tremendously beneficial to have data from the 28 other teachers who took the survey.
Instruction will not be limited to just those tasks that more experienced users are
already comfortable with, however. In order for instruction to meet the needs of all
learners, tasks involving more advanced skills must also be included. One respondent
wants to learn how to sync loops better, which can be incorporated into Task II: Create
an original composition using loops. Another survey participant wants to learn how to
improve sound quality, which can be addressed in Task IV: Convert files for use with
GarageBand. The challenge will be to design instruction that meets the needs of novice
users and provides a bit of challenge for more experiences users, while remaining
within the constraints of the required time frame.
Because learners have a wide variety of experiences and comfort levels, I would
expect the pace at which they move through instructional materials to vary greatly.
Learners with some previous experience are likely to be comfortable with the first three
tasks already (see below), whereas novice users would benefit from taking extra time
on just the first two tasks. I decided to order tasks in such a way that, at any point,
learners are able to skip to Task VI and thus complete the final step necessary for
completing a GarageBand project - exporting audio.
Tasks for GarageBand Instruction: I. Import and edit existing audio file from iTunes.
II. Create an original composition using loops.
III. Record using read and software instruments.
IV. Convert files for use with GarageBand.
V. Import audio files, including MIDI, .ogg and loops, from online sources.
VI. Export audio in a variety of file formats for CD and web.
Regardless of previous experience or learner attitudes, it is my hope that all
learners can come away from instruction with specific skills they are able to use to
complete a GarageBand project from beginning to end.