Online and digital content is rapidly changing the way we provide education. ConductIT seeks to explore this territory in an area that is not always associated with digital and online teaching practices - music performance. This implies considerable innovation, and in some ways a proof of concept; showing that MOOCs are useful in teaching music performance in general, and specifically in conducting. ConductIT is exploring the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) as a platform for teaching conducting, and develop on-campus courses that implement the MOOC as part of the curriculum, in combination with traditional teaching formats, thus creating a blended learning environment. The project will develop and produce a MOOC that functions as a stand-alone, but that also will be utilized in combination with tailored on-campus courses, designed to complement the MOOC. The outputs of ConductIT, the MOOC and the accompanying blended learning courses, will be aimed at three target groups: 1. music students and musicians who want to develop their knowledge and skills, typically in preparation for formal conducting studies or to become conducting professionals. 2. conductors and educators who are active as conductors in their line of work and who wish to develop and further their skills in conducting through continued education. These conductors typically work with community orchestras, wind bands and choirs, or as educators in primary and secondary education. 3. The MOOC as a stand-alone will also be suitable as recreational education for musicians and music lovers who want to understand more about conducting and conductors, but who do not plan to practice the craft and art of conducting. In terms of dissemination of the experiences gained through this project, the target audience are institutions who are involved in music education, and who consider using online resources such as MOOCs in conjunction with music performance education. The MOOC will become an open resource, and thus will have considerable reach. The two project conferences contribute to dissemination. The MOOC will be developed in the creative area where the partners' specialized and complementary competences intersect; highly specialized knowledge of conducting education and of its reach, highly specialized knowledge of music theory and analysis, and highly specialized knowledge of distance/e-learning, both specifically in conducting and in a broad context. Intangible results: • Increased understanding of e-learning and of blended learning within the partner institutions, and among those reached by the project’s dissemination. • Promotion of a modern approach to e-learning and blended learning, and the advance of inter-institutional collaboration on digital learning resources among policymakers in the partner institutions and among those reached by the project’s dissemination. • Contribution to increased quality in conducting education, both at the partner institutions, but also among the users of the MOOC. Tangible results: • MOOC in conducting. • Development of curricula/study programs for conducting courses at the University of Stavanger, University of Aveiro and Royal Northern College of Music, that utilize the MOOC in conjunction with traditional teaching formats, creating a blended learning environment. ConductIT has the potential of making an impact, both in terms of providing tangible improvements and contributions to the area of conducting education, but also as a proof of concept and as an illustration of a modern implementation of digital resources and implementation of blended learning in higher music education. The project will publish its results, and the MOOC will remain an open source, potentially reaching a high number of conducting students.
Online and digital content is rapidly changing the way we provide education. The ConductIT project sought to explore this territory in an area that is not always associated with digital and online teaching practices - music performance. Due to the traditional master-apprentice model of teaching music performance and conducting, producing online learning resources for teaching conducting is highly innovative. The sudden shift to online teaching driven by the Covid-19 pandemic across the world and across the spectrum of music education has further highlighted how needed such materials are in the modern world. Before the pandemic, the number of learners using MOOCs had increased to around 180 million in nine years. During the pandemic, there was a 400% increase in users of MOOCs (Impey, 2020). The ConductIT project has developed and produced a comprehensive website published at www.ConductIT.eu, consisting of a MOOC available in English, Spanish and Portuguese in addition to an extensive amount of additional learning resources. The online compendium is further utilised in on-campus blended learning courses, one of them already being offered as a free-standing study programme at the University of Stavanger. ConductIT's outputs are aimed at: • Music students and musicians who want to develop their knowledge and skills, typically in preparation for formal conducting studies or to become conducting professionals. • Conducting teachers who wish to further develop their skills in conducting through continued education and who wish to find new and innovative ways of engaging their students. • Musicians and the music interested who want to understand more about conducting and conductors. • Music education institutions who consider using online resources such as MOOCs in conjunction with music performance education. Tangible results include: • A website & MOOC in conducting studies. • A 30 ECTS conducting study programme named ConductIT at UiS that utilises the website & MOOC in a blended learning environment, starting Autumn 2022. • Integration of the ConductIT resources in a new study programme of undergraduate electives at RNCM, started in October 2021. • Integration of the ConductIT resources at every training level offered in conducting at the UA starting in 2021/2022 and updated curriculums for existing study programmes suggesting how to integrate the ConductIT resources. • Dissemination to other institutions: The Royal Air Force Music Service in the UK started using the ConductIT resources as a key part of their revised Musical Direction/Conducting training in the Autumn of 2021. The ConductIT project organised several virtual events to support sharing and dissemination of the project. Close to 400 people from 30 different countries/5 continents attended the events. A staff training event was also carried out, aimed at training the applicable staff administrating and/or using the learning material produced by ConductIT. The event ensured that several of the project objectives were met. The project's intangible results include: • An increased quality in conducting education, both at the partner institutions, but also among the users of the MOOC & website. • A contribution to increased international activity and collaboration in areas of higher music education in general, and especially in conducting. • An increase of understanding of e-learning and in particular of e-learning in conjunction with traditional forms of teaching (blended learning) among staff and other stakeholders. • Promotion of a modern approach to e-learning and blended learning and the advance of inter-institutional collaboration on digital learning resources among policymakers in the partner institutions and among those reached by the project’s dissemination. ConductIT has made an impact, both in terms of providing tangible improvements and contributions to the area of conducting education, but also as a proof of concept and as an illustration of a modern implementation of digital resources and implementation of blended learning in higher music education. The ConductIT website & MOOC are open resources and thus have considerable reach. Conducting requires both practical and theoretical skills. By understanding the ways in which learning takes place in the online environment for this discipline, it is likely that online learning can be improved for other disciplines that require a similar combination of practical and theoretical skills. The impact and use of the MOOC will continue to be monitored as part of a doctoral research project supervised jointly by the Music Department and Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University. Quantitative and qualitative data gathered as part of this research will provide insights into online teaching and learning that will be relevant for other fields.