Report on Innovation Project – round 2 year 2001-2002 A web-based resource for Electronic Music Studios used by year 1 Music Technology students. Latest edition available at: http://www.learn.keele.ac.uk/02-03/ug-mod/mus/mus-129/studio_lev1/index.htm

1. Summary The resource has proven reliable, robust and has been received very well from students. The use of the resource was integrated within the programme of study for first year Music Technology students. The growing ‘Internet literacy’ of the last students’ cohorts allowed them to utilise the resource from day one without any particular specific training on the interface. The access to the resource is one of its main strengths: students can access it any time day and night in the labs (they have 24/7 access), in the Library IT suite, in their room (via HallsNet), at Home (if connected to the Internet). Therefore, a greatly flexible extension of the tutor-students contact was achieved allowing students with different learning needs/ability to benefit. The modularity of the resource, organised into self-containing studio tasks, has allowed the Music Department to cater for a variety of students’ abilities since their arrival. The most inexperienced students could take the first introductory tasks and learn basic skills while more skilled students went rapidly through these preliminary tasks and engaged with more advanced techniques since early October. The adaptability of the resource is certainly part of the reasons behind the success of the Music Department at retaining students, despite the great variety of their background (Music, Science, working experience). The resource has enabled the Department to provide studio-techniques teaching to comparatively large groups without substantial additional teaching cost. Students felt they were guided and challenged by the problems posed to them by the progressively difficult tasks, while benefiting from the content (text, images, sounds, video-clips) of the resource provided. At the time of writing, a second, even bigger cohort of first year student has already used the resource, with equally positive results. Similar resources are now being introduced for other component of the Music Technology course across the three years.

The feedback provided on a regular basis from students, on-line forms are available to visitors within the web site, has proven very helpful in maintaining and developing further the resource.

Diego Garro - Project Leader KEELE UNIVERSITY, January 2003