Welcome to "...the music is free..." Moodle course and "I Got Rhythm" EVO 08 group. This is the session that was not planned to be.

History

• "...the session that was not planned..."

I first met Lee in a class on Webcasting at Worldbridges. Early on, we found that we had a mutual interest in the many aspects of Music. Lee is a practicing musician, and I am a non-practicing musician (meaning my wife will no longer permit me to play drums in the house or the garage). It seems that we both had visions of communities of like minded individuals discussing various musical subjects via the internet. So in the early days, Lee started a community at WorldBridges called MusicBridges and I started one at the Ning network called "...the music is free...". They were never meant to compete with each other, but instead were really different ideas headed off in different directions.

• EVOnline roots

At some point last summer, there was discussion on the EVOnline discussion list about the need for such a music community. I wrote in and invited people to help build such a community at "...the music is free..." and Lee wrote and told about "MusicBridges". Then Elizabeth Hanson suggested that such a subject would be great fodder for a class at EVO 08, and "I Got Rhythm" was born.

Neither Lee nor I, wanted to get rid of our existing communities, so we decided that we could simply offer them as resources for the class, and provide a more detailed musical exploration at my ElderUniversity Moodle. The EVO 08 moderators then insisted that we also use a Yahoo Group(MusicBridges Yahoogroup) to communicate with the EVO group.

• A plethora of applications

So now, we have involved a Moodle, a Ning network, a YahooGroup, a Drupal(MusicBridges), and by the end of the course, no telling what other applications will be involved. Fortunately, they all offer different ways of doing different things. We don't see them as mutually exclusive but in terms of the EVO 08 effort, they become cogs of a giant wheel. One that we sincerely hope, continues to roll on, well after EVO 08 is finished. The Moodle at ElderUniversity, will continue to have it's own personal life...it is my primary training tool for my business. MusicBridges will continue to be Lee's approach to a musical community of people interested in exploring music as will be the "...the music is free..." Ning Network. Whether the YahooGroup is continued or not will be determined by you, the members of the EVO 08 "I got Rhythm" group.

• Ways to use the Applications
  

• The MusicBridges Yahoo Group - Chances are, that if you are reading this commentary, you have already figured out that you need to sign up for the YahooGroup.

• The ElderUniversity Moodle "I Got Rhythm: Music in the Classroom" session. Most of the course materials will either be posted here, or hyper-linked from here. You can get to this session by logging in at ElderUniversity or by using the log in blocks on the “...the music is free...” Ning or the MusicBridges website.

• "...the music is free..." Ning Network – This is elderbob's original music community. You will probably want to join this group for future reference as well as this class. You are also free to use the 24-7 text chat on the front page. Anyone who signs up on the network can use it (it displays pictures, video, MP3s, and chat)
  

• "MusicBridges". - This is Lee's original music community. You will probably want to join this group for future reference as well as this class. This will also be the portal to some of the live events that will be scheduled throughout the course.

• Additional needs. There will be several other applications discussed during the class that you may want to keep up with. Those will be announced as we come to them.

• Del.icio.us. If you log into http://del.icio.us/elderbob/musicproject , I will be keeping a running list of as many of the named links related to the class that I can. If you sign up for your own del.icio.us account at http://del.icio.us, then click on network and add “elderbob”, then any additional links I select for MusicProject will be added from now on. This is a great way to share links with others.

• Skype - Much of the live interaction will occur via Skype conferencing. You will be able to listen to any of our webcast without Skype, but you will only be able to participate with Skype.
  

Philosophy:

Lee and I believe that because music is such a far ranging subject, that the content of this course needs to be constructive, connective and exploratory. Constructive in the sense that this is YOUR course, and you should decide what subject matter is involved in your own personal learning (within the limits of a six week effort). Connective in the sense that, if everyone participates, we have provided an opportunity to learn from others that you might not ever get to meet or converse with in your normal day to day life. In that sense, we hope that long term productive relationships of people with similar needs and approaches to music in the classroom are established. And finally, exploratory, in the sense that there is no way that Lee and I are the experts of anything here. More than anything, you are the experts and we are merely the hosts of the sessions. We have tried to post materials that are thoughtful, stimulating and useful, but we also recognize that you may have additional resources. Feel free to share those resources and your knowledge.

In the end, this is sort of an "un-course". The subjects to be learned are determined by the participants. Most of the "teaching" will be done by the interaction of the participants. And the level of learning can only be determined by you, yourself.

Some Cautions

• Keep in mind that like most media-rich classes, this one is likely to need a fast computer with lots of storage, and because it is on-line, a reasonably fast connection. We are not going to make a requirement of this, because much of the class can be done via discussion groups, but we certainly request that you try to find a computer (perhaps a friend, or maybe an arrangement at work, or maybe even a good coffee shop/internet room) where at least weekly you can drop by and look at the media rich segments.

• It would be best if you attend this class on a computer on which you can download some programs. Programs like Audacity and Skype will be extremely helpful to your efforts now, and probably something that you will want to continue after the class is over with.

• Lee is a MAC user and Elderbob is a PC, so most of any issues regarding the differences in the two Operating Systems can easily be resolved. We have tried to make sure that whatever applications we use have versions that are amenable to either OS. If you have questions, please let us know.

• You will be expected to participate. We believe that two minds are better than one, and that the more minds collaborating, the greater the end result. Therefore, if you fail to participate or if you minimally participate, you are detracting from the potential result the rest of us might achieve.

• Nothing in this class is “WRONG”. There may be some mistakes or missteps, but that is all they are. If we know about them, we can correct them. We are all in this for similar reasons, and most of us want all us to achieve....so help your friends, volunteer your skills, share your experiences.

Resources:

• EVO 2008 TESOL Electronic Village Online (EVO) Sessions

• "...the music is free" (Ning Portal)

• MusicBridge s Yahoo Group

• MusicBridges Drupal
• ElderUniversity "I Got Rhythm: Music in the Classroom" course
  

  Thank you so much for joining us, and please let us know how we can make this experience better for you.

  Lee and Elderbob

  Lee's Skype username is lbaber
  

  Elderbob's Skype username is elderbob