| Technology can be an effective tool in music education by providing an abundance of techniques that can help students develop a better understanding and appreciation of music. Technology can transform tasks such as notating, composing, and transposing music into activities that can help students understand how music is created and performed.;The purpose of this study was to determine the status of music technology access, use, and teacher training preferences in the K--12 curriculum in South Dakota public schools. Since the K--12 system in South Dakota has been provided with computers, networking, and Internet service, it may be interesting to know how the music education programs have been affected.;To determine how music technology was being used in South Dakota K--12 public schools, a survey instrument was completed by 129 music teachers across the state. In South Dakota, the 16 most populous schools are in the "AA" basketball class. The next 64 are in the "A" class, and the remaining schools are in the "B" class. The same system was used in this study to determine if any differences existed in music access and use based on size of school.;Survey results indicated that most teachers have a significant amount of access to computers, about half had access to music software, but nearly 10% had no computer access for music instruction. In addition, roughly 39% of teachers used notation software in their curricula quite often. Nearly 29% of teachers indicated they never used music software for lesson preparation, and more than 54% said they rarely used it for that purpose. Considerably less prevalent was student use of music technology in class; only 25% of teachers employed that approach.;Teachers used a variety of music programs; 46 different software titles were cited. School size or area of music instruction had little influence on access or use. If teachers had more time, 76% would use more technology in teaching and 55% would be more willing to learn music technology. |
