Digital technology breaks down barriers to music education, making it accessible to students regardless of location, socioeconomic status, or physical ability.
'We, as music educators, have a lot to contribute to the development of new technologies – we are experts in music and we are experts in learning – so when a new technological advancement comes along, we should be asking ourselves ‘who is developing this, and how can we work with them to make it useful for our students?’ – Ben Sellers, inclusive music-maker, trainer and researcher
Getting started with digital technology
If you are interested in developing your music education offering with technology and are looking for some advice, a good place to start would be to reach out to the DIME (Digital Innovation in Music Education) Alliance. DIME is an alliance of organisations and individual practitioners committed to raising awareness of innovative digital technologies for the benefit of children's and young people's music education and learning.
In June 2024, Music Mark ran the inaugural Digital Innovation in Music Education virtual conference with the DIME Alliance, bringing together experts from music education and beyond to explore how you can lead the way in digital innovation in music education. Recordings of the conference sessions will be available to watch throughout 2025 for those who missed the conference or want to remind themselves of what happened on the day. The first session, titled ‘Engaging with Innovations in Music Technology’, explores music technology for one-to-one lessons, mixed ensembles, and tech-centric ensembles. In this session, Kate Rounding (Executive Director of TiME) shares updates on the latest music technologies and how they can be used to support students of all abilities to develop their creative, compositional and ensemble skills. With practical tips and takeaways, this session offers ideas for group music-making activities.
WIRED Toolkit
The most recently launched episode is called ‘WIRED Toolkit: Strategies for gender inclusive learning’. This delves into independent research undertaken as part of Yorkshire Sound Women Network's WIRED education project (funded by Youth Music). This session (youtu.be/x8fb8pKS7Mg) offers insights into engagement in music technology learning among girls, women and people of minority genders, and introduces the WIRED Toolkit. The WIRED toolkit is a set of resources including strategies for educators to support gender-inclusive learning environments, recommendations for policy change, and testimonies from research participants as to the blocks and barriers they have faced in their learning and careers in audio.
Further practical resources
Other sessions from the DIME conference will be published throughout 2025. Upcoming recordings include ‘How to Build an Accessible Technology Library’, which focuses on Lancashire Music Hub's new library as a case study, and delves into the ‘what, why and how’ of building and maintaining a library. There's also a session on ‘Using Technology in A Level Teaching’, which investigates common methods for embedding technology appropriately as a tool for learning and as an integral creative tool.
Finally, there's a session on ‘A Sustainable and Scalable WCIT (CIL) and Progression Model for Music Technology’, which will explain how the model supports sustainability and how it can be easily scaled into progression opportunities. Although pitched for Music Service staff, this talk will also take several pit stops discussing classroom practice, advice and practical takeaway tools for teachers wishing to incorporate more tech into their classroom music.
Aside from the DIME conference videos, another great way to get involved in digital technology in music education is by accessing resources such as ‘Over the Digital Horizon’. Commissioned by Wiltshire Music Connect and curated by Ben Sellers, the Over The Digital Horizon project brought together leading practitioners in music education technology from across the world, in a series of webinars, articles and presentations. These resources offer a grounding in the major tech themes on our horizon, including extended realities and the metaverse, computer game music, new instrument design and tech as a tool for inclusion.
How Music Mark can help
Music Mark has a wide range of free resources – including for technology in music – available on our website. A particularly helpful resource for classroom teachers is ‘A Common Approach’, an online resource to support music educators in their teaching practice and help develop a holistic approach to music education. It is relevant to all vocal and instrumental teaching, including individual, small-group, large-group and whole-class lessons. For those interested in technology, there are sections dedicated to the use of iPads in a classroom context, and a section on Digital Audio Workstations.
