Musiandra - Music and Drama online and together Context/background of project Music and drama live on the interaction of those who are on stage and the audience. The teaching of drama and music suffered to a great extend during the times of COVID-19, especially when there were lockdowns. The teachers and the learners had to find media and online solutions in order to keep up the training and the creative situations. Unfortunately, we then realized our limits and the barriers which new methodological and IT tools meant to both teachers and learners. This is why we want to address especially the creative sector since online teaching can mean a totally new and enriching field of creativity. But instead of providing virtual games, the interaction of energetic individuals is in the focus of the Musiandra project. Often the age group also has a big impact on those who use the new media. In our project Musiandra, the teachers will be of different ages and also the learners will be of different age groups. That way the affinity to the use of new media will support the willingness to learn from experts in one field who may be totally ignorant in another field of studies. Most important of all is to make the learning situation fun and something to look forward to. So far, many colleagues have been frustrated and disillusioned. Musiandra wants to show that online teaching can be successful and that it will have a special meaning when there is transnational cooperation at the same time. Objectives of your project There are three objectives that we pursue mainly: 1 - Create a compendium for teachers of music, drama and foreign languages in which we collect advice for online teaching - in real time cooperation - using hard- and software which is easy to handle - with hints as to latency qualities - with methodological teaching recipes - giving examples of our project activities with the implementation by using videos of the project activities/classes - making sure that all copyrights and data protection laws are compolied with (This compendium will be available online. There will be options in order to innovate, update, add contents and evaluate the contents. In addition there will be blogs, podcasts, perhaps padlets, apps and other formats which could help making the project and its outcomes more attractive.) 2 - Create a movie (screenplay, storyboards, music, setting, directing, acting, filming, cutting) with adolescent students 3 - Create a "making.of movie" which documents the processes of transnational cooperation in the music classes and the film development. The individually filmed music classes can also be used as a "stand alone" class. 4 - Disseminate the project outcomes to a greater public Number and profile of participants There will be two partners from Berlin, Germany, and one each from Isafjördur, Iceland, Charenton, France, Bodö, Norway, Barcelona, Spain, and Izmir, Turkey. Description of activities a - First there will be a survey on the experiences that all teachers and learners at our institutions have made with online teaching situations. There will be questionnaires. b - The teachers of band classes and of individual classes will get together and will make detailed teaching plans for the project period. c - If COVID-19 allows it, there will be meetings: teachers, learners, general public (in project meetings and in concedrts). In case the real meetings are impossible, there will be virtual meetings and concerts with (partly) streamed performers and/or perhaps video conference concerts. d - HIgh school students will be creative in the field of drama and invent a play which will be the core of the Musiandra film. They will also film it and present it to the general public. This activity demands workshops in creative writing, filming, cutting and dissemination. One element should also bepicking or composing the suitable film music. They will be supported by the theatre Volksbühne Berlin. e - All learners and teachers who actively participate in the Musiandra project will document the online learning activities in videos. (Of course copyright laws and the personal rights will be attained!) Methodology to be used in carrying out the project: Trustful cooperation A short description of the results and impact envisaged - The compendium, the film and the concerts will provide evidence that online teaching can be very dreative and that it will lead to excellent outcomes. - As a consequence, teachers and learners will overcome their barriers as to accept online classes in the field of music, drama and creativity. Finally the potential longer term benefits - Musiandra will be a successful embassador for online teaching in creative subjects, especially in the vulnerable fields of audios and coordinated movements. The compendium will survive the project and will be improved and extended also after the project. And most of all, we will learn from each other and with each other
We wanted to learn how to teach online on an international basis. We needed the online communication because we could not travel. We wanted to experience how to stay in touch and rehearse and be creative in an online meeting and prepare concerts etc. The exchange of methods, knowing other persons from other countries, learning new tools, encouraging teachers to use digital tools (e. g. traditional and conservative piano teachers), online teaching worked more or less during COVID times - how could we do the next step? 4-hand piano is more or less 2-dimensional, in the band the technology had to work for multiple users, in the band everybody is a member. At the same time we also wanted to create a tutorial platform - the Musiandra website - so that teachers from all over Europe could find orientation and ideas on how to create a fruitful online teaching environment in culture and creativity, especially music and drama. For speakers of German, there is also the website "forschungsstelle.appmusik.de" where you can find the Musiandra elements described in German with links to our films, podcasts, tutorials and blogs. We learned how to make use of the new media for our teaching and learning purposes. And we created material for others.
The project MUSIANDRA was born out of the teaching experiences during the COVID-19 lockdowns/isolation situations. Theatres were closed and concerts and gigs were cancelled. The options were either to close up like oysters or to dare trying out new formats. The need to learn about software, hardware, applications and methods seemed to be a huge mountain. The Musiandra project was put into action to provide "molehills" in order for "the mountains" to "take care of themselves". The try-out of totally new concepts with new media across the borders added a positive attidude. We experimented and supported each other, learning about online opportunities. The new media and the option to teach online feel like protheses or new limbs. At the beginning they felt odd, but by and by we found the benefits. It is a matter of facing the unknown and being supported by others who share their experiences without shaming or blaming. The biggest value added in this project was to learn from each other and together. We tried out new apps, hardware or methods. We present the success of such online/digital learning paths in the compendium podcasts and the presentations and video tutorials and documentations of our online activities. www.musiandra.org