EarSketch: Inspiring Persistence in Computing Through Music

• Published in: Techniques Vol. 93; no. 7; pp. 34 - 41
• Main Authors: Edwards, Douglas, Freeman, Jason, Magerko, Brian, McKlin, Tom, Lee, Taneisha, Moore, Roxanne
• Format: Trade Publication Article
• Language: English
• Published: Alexandria Association for Career & Technical Education 01-10-2018
• Subjects: Application programming interface; Authenticity; Behavioral Objectives; Computer science; Digital audio workstations; Educational Environment; Genre; High School Students; Instructional design; Instructional Materials; Interactive learning; Learner Engagement; Music; Programming languages; School environment; Science Curriculum; Science education; Social identity; Software; Sound design; Students; Teaching Methods; New York; United States > US
• ISSN: 1527-1803

EarSketch uses JavaScript and Python programming languages, which are pervasive in both industry and education, and provides students with audio samples, created by two music industry veterans, that serve as the musical building blocks for students' compositions. Curriculum and Teacher Materials The EarSketch curriculum is aligned with the programming standards of the College Board's advanced placement (AP) computer science principles (CSP) course, as well as a related (non-AP) computer science principles course that is standard for high school students in the state of Georgia. The EarSketch CSP module follows this studio-based learning (SBL) approach across all three units (Hendrix et al., 2010): * Designing an artifact * Presenting work to peers and teachers, along with a detailed justification of the decisions made * Discussing the work of peers and offering constructive questions and feedback * Revising work based on the feedback of others Computing teachers may be unfamiliar with this approach and the idea of teaching CSP within the domain of music. Because now they feel like, 'Yeah, I can do this.