Virtual Reality Spaces for Teaching Music, Heritage, and Culture

We return to the desire expressed by TRP teachers, and many music educators, to decolonize the music classroom.  Earlier we looked an example from the Reinventing Beethoven Challenge which was an attempt to modernize teaching about classical music.  Pro.Europeana. eu provides additional student submissions for the challenge on the Open Education Resource platform. All of the examples utilize technology, some using flat screen VR, and all of the tools engaged the tools with the topic of cultural heritage.

Anti-Racist Pedagogy for the Middle School Orchestra

Henry Lugo III uses the phrase  “counter-Narrative Repertoire” in his OER research about Anti-Racist Pedagogy and Counter-Narrative Repertoire for the Middle School Orchestra. He describes a story similar to the experiences for Joe, Liana and Jed of TRP,  Lugo III states that “Early on, it became apparent to me that I was reaching students much more efficiently by rethinking the [music] program…”  This rethinking included opening doors to a counter-narrative curriculum in his classroom. Teaching with a counter-narrative approach or strategy  is a method of decolonizing the classroom. He developed a curriculum unit in which he and students could use a variety of technology tools, such as flat screen environments (XR), to “rethink dominant pedagogical approaches, and re-examining which narratives are presented in the classroom and for what purpose. ”  We now take a closer look at two examples that he used in his classroom.

Padlet Example

In this example Henry Lugo III use Padlet to plot important locations in music history such as birthplaces of composers or points of origin with regards to genre. Setting up the Padlet is simple and intuitive. Additionally, you can use the platform for any existing lessons as it’s a very flexible resource.

https://padlet.com/henrylugo/some-of-the-composers-we-have-learned-about-this-year-x14evx3l7ubcdpm

Google Earth Example

In an example similar to the work of Dr. Jackson, Henry Lugo II tools introduced students to Google Earth as a map and timeline tool.  This is something which teachers can start and students can add onto during the course or the school year.  The use of Google Earth and Padlet make “the same and different points using similar information but both with the aim of broadening the narrative. Using these sites, the students can see where the composer is from, what they looked like and where they fit in the continuum of composers. An added benefit to this platform is that students can access them whenever they like.”

Example video demonstration of Google Earth exercise

Video Excerpt of Dr. Jackson

In this short video Dr. Jackson describes why he used Google Earth for his presentations to Bellevue College

A 360 Image of The Rhapsody Project Summer Block Party

In this final interaction we see the use of simple  XR technology with an interactive 360 image and a twenty second audio excerpt  The summer 2023 party featured The Panorama Jazz Band singling along with youth and adult performers from TRP.