Music and the E-Learning Experience
What’s music got to do with learning, right? You would be surprised. Consider this scenario:
Three teachers are trying to teach first-time students the alphabet.
- The first teacher writes the letters on the blackboard but does not pronounce them. Result? Without the sound input, the students have no clue as to what’s being taught.
- The second teacher writes the letters on the blackboard while saying them out loud. The students are able to associate shapes with sounds.
- The third teacher goes a little further— writing the alphabet on the board, while saying the letters out loud, and then singing the ABC nursery rhyme. The children are greatly interested in the lesson. They not only find it easy to associate the sound with the shapes on board, but are also able to remember and repeat the alphabet as they sing along.
What does this tell us? That sound, and more importantly music has the ability to enhance learning. As an effective instructional strategy, music helps to create a rich, immersive environment for the learner. It impacts the learner positively by stimulating the brain and facilitating memory retention.
Since e-learning courses are multimedia-based programs, the audio input, especially music, can be used along with graphics, video and text to create a meaningful experience for the learner. It can be used as background score to a well recorded narration or as audio enhancement for the written text.
By integrating music into your e-learning course, you are able to:
- Provide a multi-sensory learning experience to the learner—audio, video and text
- Facilitate memory retention. When music is combined with information, we find it easier to remember.
- Enhance active learning sessions
- Provide a background sound for learning activities
- Focus attention
- Energize learning
- Enhance theme-oriented lessons
In short, effective use of music can enhance learning and instantly upgrade your course from a mere e-page turner to a motivating learning experience. What’s more, a splash of music can add the human element in the impersonal e-learning environment.
But what if you would like to add music to your e-learning course but don’t have the right kind of music? Or your production budget doesn’t allow you to purchase extensive collections of CD's? Don’t worry. Here’s what you do—write a complete audio-visual script for your e-learning course. This will help you identify the different places where you need to use music, whether as background score, as atmospheric soundtracks, or to focus attention. Next go to the Internet. Look for royalty free music on websites such as www.premiumbeat.com for affordable legal production music with copyright clearance. You are sure to find what you are looking for. You can then download these soundtracks as .WAV or compress them as .MP3 files for use in your e-learning course.
If you are unsure of the different kind of music you should be using to evoke a certain response in the learner, refer to the following chart:
| When? |
Type of music |
Search for |
At the start of a learning module |
Lively cheerful music. |
royalty free jazz music, royalty free classical music, or an audio logo |
For visualization activities |
Relaxing music |
royalty free ambient music,
royalty free easy listening music |
During transition from one activity to another or one module to another |
Energizing music |
royalty free world beat music, royalty free rock music
royalty free dnb ot techno music |
As background music |
Low volume |
royalty free music - Corporate, ambient or atmospheric |
To end a session |
|
upbeat production music |
Now that you are all set to add music to your e-learning courseware, a few tips before signing off:
- Each one is us learns differently. So while learners with auditory learning style will benefit from the musical input, others might feel overloaded if you use music indiscriminately throughout the course. A good thumb rule is to use music for 30% of the duration of the course.
- Variety is essential. Avoid running a single track over and over again through the course. Instead, use appropriate and relevant audio input as and when required.
- Silence is important. Don’t force the learner to listen to a variety of music throughout the course. Give them breathing space.
- Avoid music with lyrics. It can distract and interfere with learning.
- Avoid using music in the assessment modules.
This article was originally published at www.premiumbeat.com a leading Royalty Free Music Library.
This text may be copied and published on-line or otherwise in its entirety but cannot be modified or edited without permission. Contact: info@premiumbeat.com |
