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Student access to course:

http://csusb-odl.com/moodle188/
Username: etec
Password: etec

A. Executive Summary

The online course that I developed focuses on digital music production. The
primary objective of this course is for students to gain an advanced
understanding of the musical production process and develop the skills needed
to independently compose a musical composition in its entirety. The unit
delivered covered the art of sampling pre-existing audio and creatively
formatting it into a previously recorded drum track created by the student. This
unit begins in week 7 of a 10 week course and assumes that a majority of the
technical knowledge associated the programs used is already known.

The LMS that I built my course in (Moodle) really made delivering the course
material a simple process. Once I had my students established within the
database, I was able to create a generic message welcoming them to the course
and then customizing the portion of the message that included their personal
access information. My initial contact with the students was facilitated via my
personal email. Thereafter, I maintained communication with my students
primarily through the discussion forums and grading commentary, which were
all configured to forward email transcripts to my personal email address.

Upon accessing the course, students were prompted to review the good start
materials and become acquainted with the site layout. A brief introductory
discussion thread along with a student survey provided me with ample
information to profile each individual’s learning style, experience level and
available resources. The student feedback that I received after completing the
good start section of the course reaffirmed the belief that both the students’ and
instructor’s expectations would be fulfilled. I was very fortunate to find four
participants who had the prior knowledge and necessary resources to complete
the unit, as this was the obstacle that I was most weary of during the course
development phase.

Students’ performance was evaluated based on three rubrics that I developed for
the tasks assigned in this course. These rubrics assess several criterion for class
discussion, participation and music production assignments.
There were three graded tasks within the delivered course unit, two discussion
activities and one production assignment. Overall participation was also
assessed based on discussion content and survey feedback. All criteria were
addressed with the exception of timeliness due to my participants’ conflicting
schedules and previous commitments.
The online discussion component was designed to allow students to share their
experiences and build a sense of community amongst them. This is tough to do
with only four students, but I feel that it served its purpose nonetheless. In the
delivered lesson, students participated in a self-critique of the composition that
they created. I retrieved the audio files that each student uploaded and posted
them below the discussion link so that the students could listen to one another’s
work. Though this first discussion was a self-critique, its intention was to
familiarize the students in with analysis involved in the critiquing process and
prime them to participate in critiquing their peers in future lessons. Level II
responses are encouraged, but not assessed within the rubric for this lesson.

All assignments were created with the purpose of students’ demonstrating the
knowledge that they’ve obtained throughout the course. Being that the course
assignments are cumulative, it is essential that they stay on task. To ensure that
students stay engaged, I’ve implemented several brief discussion activities
within each lesson that will focus on the upcoming tasks in hopes that the
resulting discussions will be both informational and inspirational.

B. Delivery and evaluation of “Good Start”

a. State the objective(s) of this session.

When presented with the techniques commonly utilized to sample audio


and identify a source and the means of obtaining the audio, students will
be able to:

• Identify source audio that has the greatest potential for sampling.
• Extract the audio and format it in a manner that suites their
composition.
• Demonstrate the steps required for creating and routing the audio
devices necessary to sample audio and incorporate the sample into an
existing song structure.

Upon analyzing their sampled audio composition; the student will be able
to:

• Provide constructive feedback based on class discussions and course


content.
• Identify the components of a song’s structure and discuss their
respective impact on the composition.

b. State the objectives of your online instruction.


Upon completion of this digital music production course, students will be
able to:

• Discuss their advanced understanding of the essential phases in


professional music production and demonstrate a sound foundation of
skill sets that are commonly used in the audio engineering field.
• Develop their own original composition from start to finish.
• Discuss and exhibit their knowledge of music theory, song form, audio
engineering software, studio hardware, constructing an instrumental,
integrating sampled audio, recording vocals, and equalization and mixing
down a finished track.

c. Describe your delivery.

Who did you deliver it to?

My course content made it difficult to find students who were not only
qualified, but had the required resources readily available. I had to reach out
to friends, business associates and family who had previous knowledge of
music production as well as access to the software applications used in the
course. After an exhaustive search I was finally able to get four participants
who met the criteria.

Two of the participants are high school students who have various musical
backgrounds and are familiar with the programs. The other two participants
are college students. One has a master’s degree, extensive experience in live
music and a basic understanding of the software. The other is a freshman at
the University of Oregon and actually plays for the football team. He has been
a drummer for most of his life and has an advanced understanding of the
software.

When and where did it take place?

My initial email was sent out a few days after my proposed date of March
14th. I sent out four requests to access and complete the “Good Start” material
along with the site link and usernames and passwords via Facebook on the
night of March 16th. An introductory discussion and student survey were to
be completed by March 19th. A critique discussion was scheduled to occur
within the last two days of instruction, however I had to push the dates back
the deadlines to adjust for the late start.  All requirements were to be
submitted by March 20th. The actually date that I received the final
submission was on March 24th. I marked reminders in the course calendar to
keep the students on task.

What documents did you have for the delivery?


All of the documents delivered were accessed via my online Moodle course:
http://www.csusb-odl.com/moodle188/
The course name is NateWildes

Students were instructed to review and complete the tasks within the
“getting started” section which included the following course materials: Class
description and student expectations, welcome page, syllabus, interaction
schedule, additional resources, students survey, technology checklist,
introductory discussion activity, news forum and downloadable rubrics.
After reviewing this material, any possible issues or concerns should have
been addressed and or resolved via email.

How did you deliver it?

The initial information and course access information was sent out to the
students’ personal email addresses via Facebook messages. Each student was
assigned a unique username and password to access the online course via
Moodle. Once all students had accessed the course, all other correspondence
and course materials/info were presented and delivered within the LMS
(Moodle). All other resources such as web sites, video tutorials, instructional
handouts and discussion forums are located within the site.

How did you evaluate your “Good Start”?

I utilized a customized student survey within my course site to gain feedback


on the students and their understanding of the course objectives and
expectations based on the “Good Start” material. I also received feedback in
an introductory discussion requirement. All students were urged to discuss
any possible concerns they had after completing the “Good Start” section
(prior to beginning instruction). The rubrics used to evaluate the good start
material are available in the “getting started” section of the course.

What evaluation results did you find?

The feedback that I received fro the introductory discussion was very
promising. All of the students had at least some experience in music
production and most of them were familiar with the software that is utilized
in the course. Most important of all was the enthusiasm that the students
shared for music. All four students were eager to expand their knowledge in
digital music production.

Below are the results from the “getting started” student survey:
Survey Results
Status
Response Average

Freshman   25%
Junior   25%
Masters Candidate   25%
Other   50%
Please enter your primary area of study or any declared majors.
# Response

1 Communications
1 General Education
1 Masters in Public Administration
1 Sociology
Please check the button that best describes you.
Response Average

Experienced in music production. Fairly comfortable on a   100%


computer.

Total   100%
Please check all of the personal technologies that you have available.
Response Average

A personal computer with internet connection, at least   100%


1GB of RAM and10 GB available on the hard disk
Propellerhead Reason 4 or higher   50%
Propellerhead Record   100%
Propellerhead Recycle   100%
MIDI Controller/ Keyboard   100%
USB or XLR Mic   100%
Digital audio interface ie. Mbox   75%
Studio Monitors   75%
Please rate your computer skills.
Response Average

Basic   25%
Above average   25%
Advanced   50%

Total   100%
Please rate your knowledge of music production
Response Average

Some experience   25%


Very familiar   50%
Advanced   25%

Total   100%

Briefly explain your motivation for taking this course and what you hope
to learn.
# Response

1 I hope to have this course help me be a music producer


some day.
1 I want to learn more about composition and music sampling
and chopping samples.
1 I have never taken a music production course so I am excited
to see what will unfold.
1 I hope to learn sampling and learn more about music
production. I believe this course will expand my knowledge
and expertise. 

Total   100%
Which of the following best describes your learning style?
Response Average

Visual   25%
Tactile (Hands on)   75%

Total  
Please check any of the items below that could hinder your success in this
course.
Response Average

Limited internet access   100%


Inability to obtain the required resources   50%
Shy   50%
Inexperienced   25%
Language   25%
Lack of time   100%
Learning style   50%
Please submit any questions or concerns that you may have about this
course.
# Response
1 No concerns or questions
1 If I am not able to purchase materials needed/required for this
course, would I be able to retrieve a copy or programs
needed to help me complete this course?
1 No concerns. No Questions.

C. Delivery and evaluation of “Online Discussion”

a. State the objectives of the session.

• Students will be able to identify with one another and recognize the
various levels of experience.
• Students will gain some background information on one another
and share their motives for taking the course.
• Students will be able to assess their own work and provide
constructive self-critiques.

b. State the objectives of your online instruction.

• Students will build a sense of community amongst themselves.


• Students will learn to process constructive criticism and use it as
motivation for self-improvement.
• Students will establish a support system and learn to utilize one
another for their expertise.
• Students will learn how to provide useful feedback and engage in rich
conversations while practicing proper netiquette.

c. Describe your delivery.

Who did you deliver it to?

I delivered the online discussion activities to four volunteers with whom met
the criteria for the course. Two high-school level students and two college
students participated in these discussions. All four of these participants had
varying levels of technical experience and all four had fairly extensive
backgrounds as musicians playing one or more instruments.
When and where did it take place?
The introductory discussion was initiated on March 21st and lasted through
March 25th. The self-critique discussion took place on March 24th. All
discussions took place online within my course in Moodle at the link below.

http://csusb-odl.com/moodle188/

What documents did you have for delivery?

I established two discussion forums within my course. Each was designated


for a particular purpose. The “Introductory Discussion” was designed to get
the students acquainted with one another and to provide me with a general
idea of who my students were and their experience as is pertained to the
course. The “Self Critique” was designed to familiarize the students in the
critiquing process and to help them develop an analytical sense when
developing their music.

How did you deliver it?

All discussion activities were located within the online course available at the
link below. The student instructions were included in the discussion forums.
An initial email contact provided the students with their course access
information and prompted them to participate in the introductory
discussion. Below are the transcripts from the initial email as well as the two
discussion forums:

Initial contact email:

Hello and welcome to my online digital music production course! I want to


first thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to participate in
this unit. All of the materials to get started are currently available. Please
take a day or two to familiarize yourself with the course layout, review the
getting started materials, complete the introductory discussion and student
survey and review the course requirements to ensue that you have all of the
resources necessary to complete this unit. Please notify me via email as soon
as possible should you have any questions or concerns about the course.
Below is the link to the course site as well as your login information. Good
luck in your Sampling assignment and thanks again for your time!

Course link:
http://csusb-odl.com/moodle188/
Course name:
NateWildes

Your username: etec


Your password: etec

Nathaniel Wildes
Digital Music Production Instructor

Introductory discussion:

By now you all should have reviewed the course description and gained a
general idea of what will be covered in this course. Please post your name,
experience as it pertains to this course, why you are taking the course and
what you hope to accomplish with the skills that you will develop.

Samson Kafovalu
by etec student - Monday, 21 March 2011, 10:58 PM

My name is Samson and I love producing music. I specialize in many instruments and have used reasons and
recycle. I hope to learn more about producing music from this Course.

Re: Samson Kafovalu


by Nathaniel Wildes - Thursday, 24 March 2011, 06:07 PM

Great to hear that you love producing Sam. That's the kind of attitude that will take you far in this industry.
Why pursue it if you don't love to do it right? It's also great to see that you are a versatile musician. I'm looking
forward to your contributions to the course

My Name is Star K.W. and I am a musician. I play the piano, keyboard, and a little bit of the drums,
bass, and guitar. I am familiar with the programs used in this course and would love to learn more! I
am taking this course because I am interested in learning how to sample songs into instrumentals I
created. I also LOVE music and music production. I hope to acquire the appropriate skills to sample
songs, and use the programs effectively in what I do now. I also hope to develop a better
understanding and learn more about Recycle program and the many features it has.

Re: Introductory Discussion


by Nathaniel Wildes - Thursday, 24 March 2011, 06:14 PM

Wow! We really have some all around musicians in this course. It will be interesting to see and hear
how your experience playing tangible instruments translates over in the computer world. Your familiarity with
the programs used in this course will serve you well. We will cover sampling within Recycle fairly extensively so
hopefully you'll be an expert by the time you've completed the course!
Reply from David
by etec student - Thursday, 24 March 2011, 08:25 PM

I would love to join in!!!!! Dk.

Re: Introductory Discussion


by etec student - Thursday, 24 March 2011, 10:44 PM

I would like to learn more about Recycle and sampling.

Re: Introductory Discussion: Jun


by etec student - Friday, 25 March 2011, 07:42 AM

Name: Jun
I play the guitar, keyboard, and I have been learning to play the drums.
I am taking this class to increase my knowledge of musical programs used to create beats and I hope to learn
more about these types of programs. I am familiar with various programs like Protools, Reasons, Audio, and
more. I want to learn more about what these programs has to offer and expand my knowledge. I want to make
the best beats in the industry with what I accomplish in this course.

Re: Introductory Discussion: Jun


by Nathaniel Wildes - Friday, 25 March 2011, 07:46 AM

Welcome to the course Jun. Experience with programs like Pro-Tools will really help you out in this course.
I've found that once you have a firm grip on the functionality of a DAW like this, other programs seem to follow
suite. Love the ambition!

Re: Introductory Discussion


by etec student - Thursday, 24 March 2011, 10:52 PM

David's the name I also go by "Drumatik Beats." I am an experienced musician and play a little bit of everything
(drums, keyboard, piano, ukulele, guitar, bass, and more). I have played the drums since the age of 4. I have used
the recording and music composition programs that the professionals use and I believe I am advanced level.
I am taking this course because I have never taken a music course before, this will be my first and I am curious
to see what is offered.
I am open to what I would like to accomplish. I would like to see what this course is about and want to complete it.

Re: Introductory Discussion


by Nathaniel Wildes - Friday, 25 March 2011, 07:54 AM

I see that you're quite the experienced drummer. This experience will make tasks like drum track programming,
matching tempos of various audio sources and sequencing audio to fit your drum track a little less tedious. Your
advanced skill level in these programs will be a great asset to this course. Please don't hesitate to provide
feedback based on your experiences and support for your fellow students. I hope that this course lives up to your
expectations!

Self Critique discussion:

Take a moment to analyze the file that you've submitted for this lesson's
assignment. List the original audio file source from which your sample was
derived and why you chose it. Describe any challenges or obstacles that you
faced during this assignment and how you overcame them. How do you feel
about your composition thus far? If you were to do this assignment again
what would you do differently?

technology
by etec student - Thursday, 24 March 2011, 04:45 PM
I chose nirvana as my sample because it seemed suitable for my theme of rock/ hip-hop type of beat.
Another reason I chose this was because I am a fan of nirvana. I had no challenges with this because
I look over the video guide lines and the instructions that the Professor had give were very
informative. I am satisfied with my composition thus far. I would have no difficulties to do an
assignment like this again.

Re: technology
by Nathaniel Wildes - Thursday, 24 March 2011, 08:13 PM

You took a creative approach by meshing a rock sample with your hip-hop drum beat. I will be
curious to see what accompanying instruments that you incorporate into your next assignment. I'm
glad to see that you found this lesson and the resources provided to be very informative. Please view my
comments on this assignment within your grade post and keep up the good work!
Beatmakers
by etec student - Thursday, 24 March 2011, 04:53 PM
The sample I used was from a Motown artist named The four tops 'Sugar Pie Honey bunch". One of
the challenges that I had was matching the tempo of the original song with the tempo of the beat I
had made. I overcame this by speeding up the original songs pitch to fit the tempo of my beat that I
created on Reasons. I feel like it can use a little more tampering with but overall I am satisfied with
my work. I would cut the original song up more than and crop it at a better spot that would give me
an advantage on using it on my beat.
Re: Beatmakers
by Nathaniel Wildes - Thursday, 24 March 2011, 08:07 PM
Classic song choice. I find that music from this era is fairly easy to work with because of its slower tempo and
drawn out choruses. You matched the tempo with your beat perfectly. In a future lesson I can demonstrate how
to do this without affecting the pitch. That's the beauty of making music on the computer. You can "tamper" with
it until you get it exactly how you envisioned it. You did an excellent job in this assignment. I have additional
commentary within your grade post for this assignment.
Beat Master
by etec student - Thursday, 24 March 2011, 05:15 PM
I chose the instrumental/hip-hop sample because I loved the piano instrumental at the beginning of the song. I
also thought the beat of the song was unique and since the beat I created was an upbeat techno-like beat I
thought it would be original and funky to add the type of sample I added (instrumental/hip-hop sample to my
beat. I did not face any challenges or obstacles during this assignment. I found it very user-friendly and the
instructions/directions in the moodle/lesson was very helpful. If I did find that I had to go back a step I would just
reference to the video provided and the instructions provided by the Professor who created the lesson. I thought
He/She did a very good job at creating a very easy to follow-lesson. I really enjoyed doing this assignment. I feel
very confident in my composition and would like to do more. If I were to do this lesson again I would add
probably add some instruments to the beat I created. Overall, I thought this assignment was very helpful and very
organized in many ways. I loved that I can watch the video and follow the instructions provided. I have learned a
lot more doing this assignment than what I have learned from just the tutorials that the actual programs give.
VERY WELL DONE!!!!
Re: Beat Master
by Nathaniel Wildes - Thursday, 24 March 2011, 08:00 PM

Great choice for your sample. You almost can even tell that it's a piano because of the pitch. It really has that nice
phaser effect that is popular in techno music and compliments your beat. I'm glad to see that you used the video as
a reference to complete your assignment. That's what it's there for!
Samson Kafovalu
by etec student - Thursday, 24 March 2011, 08:34 PM
I chose the audio I chose (Sorry I can not recall the name!), because I thought it was different from what I usually
listen to. I thought it would go perfect with the beat I created on Reasons, a program I use often. I did not face any
challenges during this assignment because I have used the programs before and I also followed the video by the
instructor. I think this really help put things into perspective in how I can sample a song. I feel good about my
composition and I think I did an awesome job and was creative. I probably did a little more than what was
expected in the assignment but I thought everything went well. I do not think I would do anything differently. I am
satisfied with my assignment. Thank you for giving me the chance to do this assignment and take this course for
FREE! Thank you Professor WILDES.
-Sam
Re: Samson Kafovalu
by Nathaniel Wildes - Friday, 25 March 2011, 10:10 AM

Your sample audio is definitely original. It compliments your beat and makes for a very unique composition. I'm
glad to hear that you had no trouble with this assignment. You're welcome and thank you for participating and
bringing such a positive attitude to the course. Keep up the good work!
How did you evaluate your “Online Discussion?”

Online discussions were evaluated based on a rubric that was developed


specifically for the assessing the posts within the discussion forums. The
rubric used is presented below:

Discussion Rubric

Discussion

Criteria Outstanding Proficient Basic Below Expectations


(3 points) (2 points) (1 point) (0 point)
Critical Accurately Accurately Misinterprets Offers biased
Thinking interprets all interprets some statements, interpretations of
(Level 1 & statements, statements, questions, statements, questions,
II questions, etc. questions, etc; etc. etc.
responses
Presents the Presents Presents Fail to present strengths
)
most important important strengths and or/and good points.
strengths and strengths and good good points,
good points, points, and and provides
and provides provides suggestions
clear suggestions for for
suggestions for improvement with improvement
improvement references. without
with references. references.

Organizati Information Information and Information Information and ideas


on and ideas are ideas are and ideas are are poorly sequenced
presented in a presented in a presented in (the author jumps
logical logical sequence an order that around). The audience
sequence that that is followed by the audience has difficulty following
flows naturally the reader with can follow the thread of thought.
and is engaging little or no with
to the audience. difficulty. minimum
difficulty.

Connectio There are clear There are There are There is no connection to
ns connections to connections to some previous or current
previous or previous or connections course materials.
current course current course to previous
materials. materials. Sources or current
Sources of the of the connections course
connections are are presented. materials.
presented Sources of
clearly. the
connections
are missing.

Timelines All required The majority of the Only some Required postings are
s and postings are required postings required not posted before the
logistics posted before are posted before postings are deadlines.
the deadlines, the deadlines, and posted before
and the author the author follows the deadlines,
follows all most instructions and the
instructions correctly, e.g. author fails to
correctly, e.g. creating a thread follow many
creating a name. of the
thread name. instructions.

Mechanics There is no There are few There are There are many
misspelled misspellings some misspellings and/or
word or and/or misspellings systematic grammatical
grammatical grammatical and/or errors, and the
error in the errors; the systematic readability of the work is
postings. readability of the grammatical seriously hampered by
work is minimally errors, and errors.
interrupted by the errors
errors. distract from
the work.

What evaluation results did you find?

Despite having only four students, I found that this allowed me as an


instructor to be more actively involved in the discussions and provide more
personalized feedback. All four students actively participated in both of the
discussion forums and made a conscious effort to interact with other
students. I would like to have seen more elaborate posts and further
developed discussion threads, but given the extreme time constraints I am
satisfied with the posts. I disregarded the timeliness of the posts due to these
time constraints. Students were able to address all of the key points
presented in the discussion threads topics and most of them even responded
to my replies. There were a few issues with mechanics from the high school
students, but other than that all of the students achieved either 2 or 3 points
for each criteria category in the rubric.

Below are the grading results from the two discussion activities:

Introductory Discussion

DJ 13/15
Sam 12/15
Star 14/15
Jun 13/15

Lesson 7 Critique

DJ 14/15
Sam 14/15
Star 15/15
Jun 13/15

D. Lessons learned from the delivery/evaluation experience.

This was a great learning experience for me. It was very fulfilling to take
what I’ve learned within the Etec courses and put it into practice. I really
tried to challenge myself and I feel that by doing so I maximized the learning
experience, both from my accomplishments and shortcomings.

The largest obstacle for me was finding individuals who would be able-
bodied participants for this course unit. It requires a certain level of expertise
in music production as well as specialized software to create the music. I
used Facebook as a means of recruiting students and it paid off. I had five
people commit to the course of which four people followed through with this
commitment.

Another worry of mine was how well the content would read and if the
students would interpret it the way that I had intended. I was pleasantly
surprised that all of my students commented on how user-friendly the course
was and how the video tutorials were easy to follow. My extra efforts to make
resources that reinforced the content and provided support material for
students of all experience levels really paid off.

One area where my course did suffer was timeliness. My students did not
submit their discussion posts and assignments until a day or two before this
report was to be generated. As a result I feel that the students may have
rushed their discussions and assignments and in turn I had to rush to
evaluate their work. In retrospect, I would have contacted the students a few
weeks prior to the start of the course and provide them with the important
course materials and due dates.

Lastly I feel that my rubrics my have been somewhat overlooked based on


the discussion posts. I got a feeling that the students may have had a little too
casual of an approach to these discussion forums. This may be in part due to
the fact that our first contact regarding the course was facilitated via
Facebook. In future courses I will actually embed the rubric that will be used
to evaluate the task within the assignment.

All-in-all this course was a success and I will take with me a new found
confidence in my abilities as an instructional designer. I feel that my students
benefited from the instruction as I did from the delivery and evaluation
process. Having an LMS system like Moodle really made it easy to grade and
manage student progress. I thoroughly enjoyed creating this course and look
forward to creating many more!

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