Covid-19 Virtual Teaching Strategies
Virtual Teaching Suggestions from MA-ASTA President Nicole Parks
Hello everyone! As a technology dependent millennial, I wanted to offer some thoughts on how to transition into the world of virtual teaching for the next few weeks (and possibly beyond). Below are a brief list of things my husband (also a private instructor) and I have been discussing as we transition to the virtual land for lessons. Most of our students are younger (4yo-high school) but I will also include some older student specific suggestions that have been brought up in our Zoom meetings to talk about these things at the bottom.
We all understand that face-to-face lessons are the most important, but in this type of crisis, it is important to make sure we are doing what is best for the whole of our society, and that we take precautions to ensure the health of everyone.
Helpful Links
How To Tune Your Violin - violinist.com (intro, tuning by ear, and 7:10 - chromatic tuner)
Practicalities of Online Lessons for Teachers, Students, and Parents - violinist.com (helpful for parents to know what to expect)
Platform
Google Hangouts (there is also Google Duo - I have no experience with this)
Here is a link with FAQ about Hangouts. I have used it many times for meetings, but never for lessons. This link will give you a step by step process https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/2944865?hl=en&ref_topic=6386410
Skype
Likely the least reliable of the platforms. You need to download it to your computer to use it. https://www.skype.com/en/
FaceTime
Comes standard on all Apple Devices - the only issue is that the other party must also have Apple Devices for it to work.
Zoom
Quite possibly the best for private teachers. You can use a free account where you schedule meetings in segments of up to 40 minutes for three or more people. I believe meetings for two are unlimited in length of time, so most 45minute-hour lessons would be ok.
The best part is that meetings can be scheduled in advance and you can invite anyone. You just need to click on a link to join the meeting.
You will be asked to download Zoom, but it is quick and easy to set up.
Jitsi.org
I have not used this platform, but last night an ASTA member said it was easy to use. The sound wasn't great, but it was very user friendly.
Webex (Cisco)
The Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music uses this platform. I have no experience with it.
I signed up and was going to do a meeting via Webex, but wasn't able to figure out how to schedule a meeting.
External Devices to help/Settings
Position yourself so neither you nor your student are lit from behind. It makes it difficult to see well.
I typically use headphones when I use Zoom, but I have high quality noise cancelling headphones. Link - This is what I use. I have found that any headphones are helpful in reducing sound from the room around you.
USB microphone - this is quite possibly the best thing you can do to increase the quality of your online lessons. They are available at many price points. Some links are included below:
Yeti Blue (one of the best on the market)
Fifine (good reviews, and very cheap)
Blue Snowball (very good reviews, moderate price)
A Useful Article on Condenser Mics (most are more expensive - literally anything that isn't the built in mic on your laptop will help. Some desktop computers do not even have a built in mic.
Camera/Webcam
I use my iMac's built in camera for teaching. For live streaming, I have professional cameras and audio equipment that I filter through this (Blackmagic design Ultra Studio Mini Recorder) for high definition streaming. This could be used through Zoom, but I do not know if it would be cost effective since every student would need the resources to do it.
Content/Options
Multiple lessons per week
One way to help Virtual lessons run more smoothly is to shorten some lessons and have them multiple times per week, especially as you transition. If you have never done a virtual lesson, it might be difficult to fill up the entire hour or longer time slot.
What to focus on?
I find it easiest to focus on the things you can easily see and hear: bow hold/violin position/rhythm/shifting technique... to a lesser extent, intonation (depending on microphone and speaker quality).
Assign specific etudes/exercises that clearly work these elements so you are not asking your students to focus on a thing that you have less ability to guide (tone, etc).
Make sure that what you say is short and clear - things that are sung and long are more likely to get distorted with slower connections.
Have them use a metronome or tuner while you are working with them. That way you can tell if the connection is causing issues or if the student is having issues with rhythm/pitch.
Special projects
It might be fun to have your students do some review work over the next few weeks. Are they in Suzuki Book 4? Maybe go back to Book 2 and have them learn all of the pieces in one week with better articulations, etc!
Has a student been itching to learn a pop song or movie theme? Now might be the best time for you to work on it with them!
Do you think your students could help each other? Maybe put parents/students in touch and try to have them coach each other through mini "livestreamed" performances.
Student Driven Content
This is also a wonderful time to have your students express what they are interested in.
Composition - have them write short pieces and send you pdfs. You can play their pieces for them via zoom and see what they think.
Improvisation - this is less scary than you might think! Have them listen to sounds around their house and find ways to mimic them on their instruments
Research - find composers of interest to your students and have them write mini-research papers. You can discuss history and theory via zoom very easily!
Suggestions to Help Lessons be Effective
Have parents be involved by holding/focusing phone or camera during lessons. That helps the kids stay focused and the parents have a "task" so they don't get in the way.
Have students record something and send it ahead of time. Use the screen sharing feature to go over what students can do improve visually with them.
Listening exercises - assign students to listen to many different recordings and decide what they like best/why.
Rhythm exercises - have them figure out how to navigate more difficult rhythmic passages ahead of time and review during the lesson
For particularly young students, try focusing on some non-playing related elements, such as rhythms, note reading, etc - Staff Wars is a great app to work on these things!
Expectations
Make sure you know what you want from these lessons. They will NOT be face-to-face, and if you just admit that, you will get more from these lessons.
Ask the students/parents what they are gaining from this. Help them to understand what their specific goals should be during lessons. We are a team, and together we will navigate this!
Older Student Ideas
Have students record something and send it ahead of time. Use the screen sharing feature to go over what students can do improve visually with them. You can use your curser to direct what they are observing.
Listening exercises - assign students to listen to many different recordings and decide what they like best/why.
Rhythm exercises - have them figure out how to navigate more difficult rhythmic passages ahead of time and review during the lesson
Record Duos with themselves OR record a duo part and have them play it back with your accompaniment.
For group classes - have students prepare a short presentation and share via screen-share
This will be updated periodically as more information comes to me!