Why Teachers Need to be Facilitators
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Education is changing. According to pioneers like Salman Khan, a teacher’s role should be more of a facilitator. The way school works would be reversed. Instead of listening to the teacher in class and doing assignments at home, students should watch videos and study on their own, then go to class to work on assignments with the guidance of the teacher, who is now the facilitator or coach. This also means teachers can use other people’s content – ie videos and other materials such as Khan’s (for math, science, history).
The beauty of this is that there are different learning styles and speeds. I used to be so bored in class while others asked questions or the teacher explained something very slowly. With this new approach you can watch and rewatch videos as much as you need, or fast-forward through parts you understand.
This is why I created Online Guitar Coaching. Students can watch the video lessons and follow the PDFs as much as they want, then ask questions and discuss in the forums, email, Facebook, Twitter and during live Ustream webcam guitar lessons.
A coach can’t know everything there is to know. Students sometimes know more than the coach. Think of a sports coach – who has more physical talent and ability? When you’re a facilitator you don’t create all the education content. You create or find the best content. You also show students how to answer their own questions through research. How to question assumptions. You motivate them to want to seek out the answers. For example you just don’t teach a thousand scales, but show them how they are constructed and the overall systematic approach to learning them, along with why they are important.
This new paradigm increases engagement – students can interact with the teacher and fellow students during assignments in class. Students also increase their autonomy – watching videos and searching out answers on their own. These and other factors have a lot in common with games, believe it or not.
So the goals of Online Guitar Coaching are to increase the motivation of students to learn (via my playing and others), give them the skills they need to play guitar, but also to provide the context, the ‘why’ around what they are learning. With these skills students can develop their own craft and become self-sufficient, developing their own practice routine and charting their future goals.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day – Free Irish Rock Guitar Jig MP3
By · CommentsPlease share this post using the MiniBar at the bottom of the page and earn XP points towards badges and free guitar lessons, webcam lessons, and more.
Please share this post using the MiniBar at the bottom of the page and earn XP points towards badges and free guitar lessons, webcam lessons, and more.
Online Guitar Coaching adds Gamification
By · CommentsWill Kriski, a Canadian guitar teacher and internet entrepreneur has begun to add game mechanics to his online guitar coaching website thanks to the Gamification startup BigDoor. “This is just Phase 1″, Will says. “By using BigDoor’s MiniBar feature it was literally just a few minutes to get it up and running”.
Points, Badges and Leaderboards
By adding game mechanics to a website, people are able to check in, ‘like’ content, share content on Facebook or Twitter which earns them XP (experience points) and various badges. Influencers will earn points if other people click their links from Facebook and Twitter. Leaderboards show the rankings of point getters as a Top 10 or a relative leaderboard which keeps visitors from getting too discouraged by the top point getters.
Integrating Game Mechanics
“Phase 2 will take things to a whole new level, integrating game mechanics into the guitar lesson content itself.” Similar to a video game, students will progress through lesson content, gaining points and advancing through levels where they will be able to unlock ‘goodies’ such as free webcam lessons with Will, free video lessons and other awards.
Virtual Currency
“Virtual currency is another cool idea. Students will be able to either earn points to unlock new lessons or buy virtual currency with real dollars to save the time of getting the required points”.
Structure Learning Environments
“While there are a lot of free lessons out there on YouTube (Will’s free video guitar lessons have over 1.3 million views and 4000 subscribers) they are usually on a variety of topics with no overall structure. Using game mechanics, students can progress through a series of structured lessons like they would in a video game, known as levels.”
Game Psychology
Will says that many students are used to a structured environment that video games provide, via game levels, and are also motivated by rewards, badges and leaderboards. “There is a lot of psychology at play here, so why not use it to help students to learn?”, asks Will. “Some people are able to study guitar knowing that in a number of years they will be able to play proficiently, but others need to be motivated by shorter term goals.”
If you go to Will’s Online Guitar Coaching site, you’ll see a ‘MiniBar’ at the bottom of the screen where you can check in, like pages, share content, check what badges you’ve earned and see how you rank in the leaderboard. It will be interesting to see the development of game mechanics with this site.
Finger Tapping Lesson
By · CommentsA fairly basic tapping exercise but it’s quite smooth sounding with clean technique. To master this technique in all its variations check out Finger Tapping.
To master this technique go here Finger Tapping.
Blues Guitar Soloing Lesson
By · CommentsBlues Lick #2 and how to use it and modify it for your own solos. For more blues guitar lessons check out Learn and Master Blues Guitar or join the Online Guitar Coaching program.
For more blues guitar lessons check out Learn and Master Blues Guitar or join the Online Guitar Coaching program.
Beginner Blues Guitar Lesson
By · CommentsBeginner Blues lick (Am lick). For more blues guitar lessons check out Learn and Master Blues Guitar or join the Online Guitar Coaching program.
For more blues guitar lessons check out Learn and Master Blues Guitar or join the Online Guitar Coaching program.
10 Easy Guitar Strumming Christmas Songs
By · CommentsHere are 10 easy strumming Christmas songs for guitar (chords and lyrics):
We Wish you a Merry Xmas
We Three Kings (chords are not aligned with lyrics)
O Come all ye Faithful
Deck the Halls
Here are 10 easy strumming Christmas songs for guitar (chords and lyrics):
Jingle bells
Joy to the World
Frosty the Snowman
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
The First Noel
White Christmas
We Wish you a Merry Xmas
We Three Kings (chords are not aligned with lyrics)
O Come all ye Faithful
Deck the Halls
If you need help with these open chords or strumming please consider checking out the online video courses and live Q&A streaming lessons at Online Guitar Coaching.
No Scales, No Modes
By · CommentsAs much as possible I try to teach you the simplest way possible to learn how to solo by avoiding the common confusion with scales and modes. I think I’m in good company because:
Here’s a great Robert Conti quote (applies to all guitarists): “Nearly every aspiring jazz guitarist has experienced a DVD or an instructor who presents some abstract concept with the expectation that you, at some point in the future will be able to somehow make music out of essentially useless data.”
Jimmy Bruno also teaches a simple method of soloing as well and avoids the common obsession with theory and analysis.
C Major Scale in 5 Positions
By · CommentsYou can cover the entire fretboard with just 5 scale shapes (which then repeat in upper/lower octaves).
Intro to Caged System for Guitar