Evaluation
Evaluating the effectiveness of the Smartmusic technology can be done in a number of ways. I have focused on its ability to help teach good tone to students. Evaluating this requires a rubric and an example of an ideal tone. The rubric would identify the skills the students have studied to create a good tone (including good posture, correct embouchure and good hand placement.) The ideal tone could be an example of an older student playing the exercise or perhaps even the teacher or a professional. This gives students an idea of what they should sound like and what the goal should be. Creating video and audio assessments is a good way to capture the test and create a portfolio of work for the student. It can also be used in case students or parents are not happy with their score. Ideally, the tone should have marked improvement from the beginning of the year to the end and should be apparent in the videos and through the audio. This is also a great way for students to self reflect and evaluate the work they have done. Students are usually more self critical of what they have done, and being able to hear themselves could indicate where they need improvement or prove that practice is necessary to do well. Smartmusic also allows the teacher to create assessments based on the music the students have been studying. Directly on the program, a teacher can assign parts of the music to be played at an optimal percentage and optimal speed. This can be sent directly to the teacher after completion with a percentage achieved. There are certain bugs that have been fixed so that in the final assessment, the part must be played at a certain speed and cannot be cheated in any way. Since I have focused on the improvement of tone, I will have to determine Smartmusic’s effectiveness in this vein. Using the rubric I have discussed, I will create videos of the students performing their exercise as well as the audio already created in Smartmusic. I have created videos for the past couple of years, so this would be an ideal way to compare the improvement from one year to the next with the addition of Smartmusic. Ideally, I will be able to hear an improvement across the board- whereas last year may have shown 75% of the students playing with a good to excellent tone, I may be able to hear up to 90-100% playing with that good tone. In addition, I always keep recordings of my concerts throughout the year. A sure sign of improvement could come from the comparison of concerts from one year to the next. Our music department always has three concerts held at the same time each year for sixth graders. The tone is apparent in the recordings, so the use of Smartmusic should show contrast and either an improvement or stagnation of good tone.