Discussions

Your Name and Title:

Kathryn Moreadith

Product Manager at UJAM, Inc.

School or Organization Name: UJAM, Inc.

Co-Presenter Name(s): (none)

Area of the World from Which You Will Present: United Kingdom

Language in Which You Will Present: English

Target Audience(s): Educators, Parents, Students (all levels)

Short Session Description (one line): Assessing the role of technology in the classroom and how to reinvigorate the creative arts in education to foster meaningful global collaborations.

Full Session Description (as long as you would like):

Especially in the United States, one pressing question schools are facing is how to find a balance between offering a high quality of education and effectively integrating technology into the classroom. Even the most privileged schools with access to all the latest technologies find themselves struggling to positively affect students’ education as test scores show no improvement or, worse, as knowledge retention decreases with the ineffective introduction of technology. This phenomenon, coupled with the ever-decreasing funding for arts programs in schools, provokes necessary questions about how we – as parents, educators, friends, and people with ideas – can affect positive educational change for the generation that needs it now. This panel discusses curricular redesign primarily in US schools and suggests applications of specific technologies that may, when used effectively, serve to reinvigorate creative education and thereby refocus educators and parents alike on how to increase the quality of education through the meaningful use of technology. Technology is a tool – how we use it makes it either an asset or a handicap. Connecting across global boundaries through technology can link students to higher achievement, character growth and development, and a more well-rounded perspective approaching conversations and learning in the 21^st century.

The Global Education Collaborative strives to equip eager minds with new tools to use in engaging and learning across cultural, political, social, and physical boundaries, and in our own backyards. How can we promote a globally-minded perspective in schools? We can do so by offering creative outlets for conversation and learning that simultaneously foster growth and enhance an understanding of diverse world cultures. The key here is creativity. Arts programs around the world are suffering - one reason for this, in my mind, is the lack of a clearly defined connection between artistic expression and enhanced learning opportunities. If we reintroduce arts - and specifically music - into curricular programs where they can serve as catalysts for global collaboration, we will make significant headway in improving the educational quality we so desire for younger generations (and for ourselves).

There are many examples of tools already in existence that could be integrated beautifully into the classroom. I will focus on a relatively new one, UJAM. UJAM is an online music-making platform that allows people to create tracks and mix and produce them to a high standard of musical quality. It may seem like a straightforward studio, but it offers immense educational potential. Memorizing key dates in American history can suddenly take on the form of a musical composition; a study group can take on the form of a collaborative musical session. Its musical uses abound - receiving comments and feedback on musical works becomes possible not only in your neighborhood, but across the globe. Workshops and interactive sessions between the US and Australia can happen instantaneously, if we get creative about how to use tools such as UJAM.

Beyond the prime example of UJAM, which aims to democratize the act of music-making and offers endless educational potential, I will focus this discussion on the multifaceted benefits to schools and educators with globally-minded attitudes as we assess a critical time in the development, reinvigoration, and innovational promise of global education.

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session: http://www.ujam.com