Category: What’s New

Passion is infectious, even via the web. Mason’s MUSI 101 Introduction to Classical Music course proves this. The course was taught for the first time online in Fall 2012 and was recognized this month by a panel of faculty reviewers and instructional designers as a “Exemplary Distance Education Course.” The panel noted the course’s propensity to magnify existing musical interests and inspire new passions within students. This occurs thanks to the student-focused course design features and the instructor’s love of the topic.

A learner-focused discussion about course content begins in the first course module and extends throughout the semester. In the first module, students are asked to write a blog introduction about themselves describing their past experiences with Classical music, their favorite kind of music, their favorite artists, and their favorite composers. After being introduced to a variety of instruments in a subsequent module, students explore any two instruments that spark their interest for a research assignment. Later, students get to choose a classical concert to attend and write a reflection about their experience. Every effort is made in the course design to allow students to make personal connections with music that they perhaps have not been exposed to previously.

The online MUSI 101 professor, Kelly Ker-Hackleman, sets the stage for students to share honest thoughts, judgments, and experiences by sharing her perspectives in an introduction video, mini-lectures, and assignment responses. “I don’t make my passion for music a secret, especially when recommending a concert or grading concert reflections,” Professor Ker-Hackleman commented. She is a pianist for the Alexandria Symphony and proclaims music as her life and love; so, sharing her excitement for music comes naturally.

Attendance at a classical music concert, and the related reflection, is highlighted as a climax feature of the MUSI 101 online course. “When students experience the anticipation of waiting in line to be seated, or the power of a crowd clapping in appreciation, and see the facial expressions and body movement of the performers, emotions are stirred up that may be missed if the concert was watched through multimedia,” explained Susan Campbell, the course instructional designer. Professor Ker-Hackleman said that “It is so rewarding to read a concert report written by a person who has just come from their first classical music concert, breathless from their new experience.” Music should move you and this course allows for that to happen.

Anyone who has an open mind and desire to expand their knowledge will succeed in and enjoy MUSI 101 online. Students who have enrolled in this course have had incredibly diverse musical backgrounds.  Some former students had previously only listened to rap, a few had taken band and choir in high school and wanted to build upon the knowledge they gained there, and others were retired individuals who already adored classical music.

These previous MUSI 101 students recommended two keys to success for others considering the course.  First, keep up with the weekly coursework. Students found it helpful to enter the prescribed study schedule into a personal calendar and follow it closely. Second, take advantage of the textbook materials. If a particular composer sparks your interest, explore using all of the supplementary materials in the online textbook. Allowing yourself to study what interests you will keep learning as exciting as it should be! Perhaps you will even discover a new passion along the way.

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Mason offers several other Arts courses online. Please check the online course listing page then register for an online course via Patriot web.

Golden Globe Award winner Stacy Keach is known as Professor Keach to 19 Mason students who began his Spring 2013 Theater course in January. Professor Keach started teaching this course, THR 490: Professional Perspectives on Performance, using a hybrid delivery method during the Fall 2012 semester. Professor Keach leads lectures and group discussions using “Jabber Video” while working on professional sets around the globe. Students perform “scenes” for him over videoconference and receive real-time feedback or personal emails with his critiques. Best of all, Keach takes footage from each set he works on and sends it straight to his students. This is just one of many cases in which Mason adopts technologies to facilitate the interaction of true professionals with today’s students despite limitations of geography or time.

Keach, who has had countless roles in popular movies and T.V. shows such as The Bourne Legacy, 30 Rock, and Two and a Half Men, explained that his course “is primarily to prepare kids for auditions.” “So,” he said, “in that context, a distance course is great!” Keach then explained, “I recently did an audition on my iPhone. I shot it myself and then emailed it to the producers.” As professional industries rely more and more on technology-based communication, it is important for students to learn these skills early on. Additionally, with the hybrid course format, all of the scenes performed by students in class are automatically recorded. This makes it easy for students to put together clips of themselves at the end of the semester to send to producers.

When the students aren’t in front of the camera during class time, they are virtually behind the scenes wherever Keach is. Last week, he got a face cast and a head cast done for a feature film he is working on called Sin City 2, and he recorded the procedure for the students to watch. This month his students will also learn about the process of voice-overs as Keach records the voice of Skipper, a character in Pixar’s upcoming feature called Planes.

In a meeting last week on campus, Keach shared future goals for the course with the Department of Instructional Technology (DoIT) staff and they immediately provided technology-based solutions to achieve his goals. “Can I [virtually] bring in other actors to speak to the students? Say, for example, I am out in LA and want Robert De Niro to come on. Can we make that happen?” Keach asked. DoIT staff nodded yes. “And is there a way I can have control of the zoom-in and zoom-out, from my computer, of the camera recording my students perform?” DoIT agreed to make it happen. Additionally, the DoIT team committed to creating an archive of video clips that Keach takes from sets so that he can share them with students in semesters to come.

Mason’s online and hybrid courses apply innovative teaching theories and cutting edge technology to best serve the needs of students. In some cases, the need may be greater flexibility of time or the elimination of inconvenient commutes to campus. In the Theater department, the students’ need was to have a professional perspective on performance.

Launched in Spring 2013 is EDIT 201 : Strategies for Online Learning Success. This course is designed to help students assess their readiness for online learning using effective strategies for online interactions and activities to promote successful online learning experiences. EDIT 201 is for undergraduate students in any discipline who may be seeking to enroll in a fully online program. The course is offered in a modular, online format and is designed to provide students with the skills they need to succeed in the online environment. The course is self-paced, enabling students to proceed at their own speed. Once registered, students may start or stop any of the modules but must complete the course by the end of the semester in which they are registered. The course includes a combination of multimedia presentations, interactive exercises, electronic resources, videos, and a final skills assessment to assess mastery. Students will also be provided with technical and content support.