Summary

Summary



Based on the aforementioned research, modern education practices are allowing students to extend their learning beyond the classroom. Through utilizing technology teachers are encouraging their classroom to engage with choreographers and programs that may be geographically and financially out of the realms of students normal capabilities. Using dance films and online applications in the classroom to model and scaffold tasks, students are able to explore skills and knowledge in a more engaging manner. Using websites such as YouTube enables dance teachers with training limited to a single dance style to participate in collaborative learning practices with a diverse range of choreographer and dance practitioners whilst in generations prior students were limited to the content their teacher could offer. With the rise of dance films and reality television shows students are taught to appreciate all dance as art forms and subsequently can use these as modeling and scaffolding for their own compositions. As discussed by Cain (2004, pg 219) “Curriculum change is necessary if the world of the classroom is to keep pace with the world outside”. Technology and dance are evolutionary processes and as quickly as they are taught they become obsolete. Whilst we can still appreciate them so much on the internet is available at our fingertips. ‘ With the emphasis on thinking skills in the VELS curriculum (2005) we encourage our students to become collaborative in their approaches to tasks. Through the inclusion of technological devices within the dance curriculum in order to create an enriched and engaging curriculum available for all genders and learning abilities which encourages and supports learners of a variety of learning styles. There is so much available out there; however, to place the most suitable into the curriculum is a difficult stage thus identifying a gap. Historically dance has been a more female dominated subject area, however, with the rise of dance based television shows and films males are beginning to connect with the themes and content of dance and choreography. When designing unit plans we are forced to answer questions such as a) who is the target audience and b) what facilities equipment we have access to. It is important to implement these is classroom instruction. Practitioners and academics differ on whether teaching is strictly sequential (e.g. you must finish analysis before you start on design) or whether there may be movement back and forth between the phases, in an evolutionary creation of the final product (Unknown 2008). Teaching is cyclical. Practitioners are asked to evaluate and analyse both sides of the process. This concept is a constant reminder in teacher education at tertiary educational facilities.

With tertiary institutions becoming more adventurous with their subject matter, secondary schools are forced into offering a ‘taste’ of these mediums over the course of their schooling years. Subject areas at primary and secondary schools are engaging in inquiry based learning and cross curricular programs using areas like multimedia, history and dance are so closely linked that universities such as Arizona State University and Swinburne University are able to offer more breadth to their courses. Current educational research such as Hilkemeijer (2007) streams education to make real life connections and through technology students are offered a more holistic and enriching experience with these modern educational practices.