Music Director undergoes a technology upgrade
BY MARLI GUZZETTA
Much like a healthy shark in the water, the mind of a teacher would die if it didn't keep moving. Nantucket High School's Music Department Head, Barbara Elder, is keeping her mental fins moving by taking a professional sabbatical beginning at the end of January to become fluent in the newest technologies available for music composition. Elder, who will still be working tangentially with the school through the end of her sabbatical in September, is taking classes like Web Design for Musicians, Pro Tools 101 and Desktop Music Publishing from the Berklee College of Music. Through Berklee, Elder will receive a Music Technology for Teachers Specialist Certificate.

NHS Music Department Head Barbara Elder will be on sabbatical through September to receive a teacher's certification in music technology from the Berklee College of Music's online curriculum.

Elder hopes to share what she's learned with the students, Music Department, teachers and school system at large.

"Things are changing so rapidly. We have kids growing up on technology, while the faculty may not be on the same page," Elder said. "You find yourself having to move ahead of the curve to create assignments that are forward thinking."

With her upgraded knowledge, Elder will be able to teach students to work with virtual synthesizers to make music right on the laptop and also create podcasts, whose application may benefit more than the Music Department.

"Any lesson can be encapsulated onto a podcast, and possibly put up onto the school's Website," Elder said. "We have a really good technology department and some really good equipment, and what we really need is the training to use it efficiently and well. It's frustrating for all of us when you have the equipment but you don't have the time to spend on it to get a handle on it."

Ultimately, Elder would like to see the construction at the school of a lab dedicated to the visual and musical arts. "Kids would have a studio where they can go to produce artwork, videos and music … maybe even start a radio station. These programs are so powerful and so useful that knowing how to use them can give kids an inroad when they want to go to college."

The programs have already benefited at least one Nantucket High School student. Working on a computer at NHS outfitted with Sibelius and Pro Tools, senior Josef Kardell composed a musical piece that won First Place at the District's music competition.

For her continuing education, Elder has invested approximately $2,000 of her own money in equipment: a Mac PowerBook G4, a microphone and speakers, a Digital Roland Piano and a Digi Design MBox, which acts as an interface between the computer and her music-making tools. The set up is small and portable, so Elder can travel with her "mini" studio while perfecting her ability to tweak sound.

"It looks snazzy if you're into small little things," said Elder, who has loaded the computer with an arsenal of sound and video technology software, including Pro Tools (a professional grade digital and audio work station program) and Sibelius (software that allows the user to write, play and publish any kind of music from their desktop).

The portability will be helpful since Elder will be visiting three different school systems that incorporate similar sound and video technology into their curriculum. Many other schools across the country have already invested in similar education for their teachers and technology for their students to make the musical departments current and competitive. Elder got the idea from a friend who teaches music in Connecticut.

Elder said the NHS administration has been supportive of her sabbatical - which will allow her a stipend while she continues to take classes through the summer and into September.

Being a student and not a teacher still feels a bit new to Elder. "For 20 years, I've been working at school from September to June. It's a bit odd not being here the second half of the year," she said. "It's going to be a very different situation. … I'm approaching this with enthusiasm and trepidation at the same time. But I look forward to the opportunity to focus on

improving my abilities as a teacher." I