Using ILT in Music Technology at New College Nottingham

Andy Wolfe Lecturer in Music Technology

New College Nottingham

New College Nottingham

• Large General FE College

• 6 centres across the city

• Good Ofsted report – Spring 2005 (Performing Arts: Grade 2)

Music at NCN• Around 250 FT

music students• From Entry level

to BA level (majority vocational)

• Music Performance & Production strands

Platforms

• Music Production courses – ProTools (HD/LE), Logic Pro

• Music Performance

courses – Cubase SX, Sibelius

PCvs.vs.MAC

Ideas

• Studio Design• Course Folders• Moodle

Studio Design

• Problems with ‘traditional’ studio learning experiences– Highly passive– Small groups– No genuinely

individual work

Studio Design

• 10 individual workstations with– Logic Pro, ProTools

and other soft synths/samplers

– DIGI 002 interface– Focusrite Pre-Amps– Mackie Control

Surface– Patch Bay

Studio Design

1 main ‘control room’ area with all standard studio equipment and monitoring system

Studio Design

• 2 live rooms for recording, all patched individually to every workstation

• Enables 10 (11) real-time recordings and mixes of the same source

Studio DesignLive Live RooRoomm

Individual Recording WorkstationsIndividual Recording Workstations

Master Master StationStation

Live Live RoomRoom

Master StationMaster Station

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Studio Design

• Improvements – 100% active– Larger groups– Longer sessions– Genuinely

individual learning experience

Course Folders

• Bespoke alternative to commercial VLEs (Blackboard, Learnwise etc.)

• College wide• Very simple Windows-

based format • High take up amongst

staff (low fear factor)

Course Folders

Course Course Resource Resource RepositorRepositor

yy

Course Folders

Student Student MessaginMessagin

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Course Folders

AssignmentsAssignments

MoodleContact Contact other other

studentstudentss

Submit Submit AssignmentAssignment

s & View s & View GradesGrades

ForumsForums

Resources/Plans/ProjectsResources/Plans/Projects NoticesNotices

NewsNews

DiaryDiary

Discussion

• Get into groups of 3 and spend the remaining time discussing:– Your institution’s current use of ILT– Your own use of ILT– Anything useful to borrow/steal

from this morning to far?– Any challenges you are facing in

your own practice/teaching/institution