teachingmusic highlights. David Ashworth

Welcome back to a new year on teachingmusic! As we enter our third year, let’s just spend a moment or two looking back on some of the achievements over the last twelve months or so….

One of the major developments that many of you have said you have appreciated has been the Guest Editorial section…check them out in the Editorial Archive. A fascinating and diverse range of issues and opinions have been covered - including Phil Kirkman on 21st century teachers; Ian Shirley’s ‘In support of the music specialist; Anthony Anderson on The Importance of Planning and Tim Brooks’ Education, the Arts and the Wider Picture.

The Forum remains one of the most popular areas on the site, with a wide range of issues attracting a lot of comment and feedback. The most popular was probably Andy Murray’s 21st C Music Teacher (wasn’t that an early King Crimson track?) which helped to inform a document produced for Becta.

Bens8n’s request for info on suitable mp3 recorders for classroom use continues to get a good response. Just as interesting however, is to read about how Ben uses these in the classroom for a year 7 environmental sound recording projects….

Partnerships and linking have been a recurring theme in use of the website over the year. Perhaps the best example is how the Royal Opera House used the site and NUMU as key elements in promoting and running their hugely successful Fanfare project.

Interesting also to see how NAME’s ICT Special Interest Group have used the site to link specially commissioned resources with targeted discussion areas in the Forum.

We do not have a huge number of bloggers on the site, but these entries are highly popular – nearly everyone who logs on the site will read the blogs! We especially value Dick Hallam’s regular updates – the best place on the web for music educators to find out what is happening at national level. Martin Fautley has effectively used his blogging area to provide some important angles on his recent publications on assessment. Ellen’s trials and tribulations of teaching has built up its own loyal fan base eagerly awaiting the next episode. There’s a reality TV show in here somewhere….

Transition and BTEC have been important on the site over the year and we have some plans for supporting these areas– expect more on these during the months ahead.

Our major technical innovation has been the introduction of the CPD tab. Content is automatically generated via an XML feed from the partner sites and is proving to be of significant benefit to host and supplier. A useful source of income generation for us – and a major source of traffic for the CPD suppliers.

I’m not going to single out any specific resources, but simply to quote Ben Sandbrook from our forthcoming report. In a video interview, he values “….the enormous diversity of different pockets of knowledge and experience that have been allowed to bubble up through the site.” Beautifully expressed.

The website is starting to create waves beyond the music education world. Other subject associations are looking with increasing interest at what we are achieving here. In a report for Futurelab, writer and journalist Merlin John tells of how we “… took that initiative further than any other UK subject organisation with its work with Synergy TV – creator of the Radiowaves and NUMU social networking sites - in developing the groundbreaking Teaching Music website to bring social networking to teachers, offering an online community that supports continuing professional development."

You can access his report at:

http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/vision/VISION_11.pdf

And for the future?

So look out for our first major report “We are Teaching Music” which provides some detailed insights into what a range of key users think of the site - and how they are using it effectively in their diverse work settings. This will be launched at the NAME conference and will be published on this site in mid September. And if you are attending the NAME conference, please come and introduce yourself at the TM stand – and let’s get together for a drink on the Friday evening……

We are committed to keeping this site ‘simple’ and user friendly, so don’t expect too many new bells and whistles. However, it is likely we will be introducing some new channels over the coming months which will allow subscribers a discrete, ‘breakout’ space on the site – and provide us with some much needed income!

Much can be achieved by a virtual online community, but even more can be achieved if we can complement this with some fact to face opportunities. Watch out for opportunities to meet some real people in real space over the coming year.

Finally, an arts administrator (outside of music education) notes that she is “really impressed with how the website has a feel of community”. Have a great year and do keep in touch with our community – it’s a wonderful place to be!



David Ashworth

Click HERE to read past editorials