Karns City students use iPads for music education

Technology can shake up normal band class, intersecting art and technology with the use of an iPad app that’s normally used for coaching sports. Instead of drawing up plays and breaking down slow-motion replays, students at Karns City High School and Slippery Rock University (SRU) are talking about things like posture, finger position and breath management — all via videos they exchange. Collaboration between SRU professor Kathleen Melago and Karns City’s band director Amanda Pivirotto has been a positive experience for both entities. With the use of iPads and the digital app Coach’s Eye — a telestration program that is normally associated with sports and weather broadcasts, the program was launched with a focus on music and distance learning. Melago saw it as a way to get her music education majors more experience in the classroom — even if it was a virtual one. Pivirotto saw the collaboration as a way for her students to get something she couldn’t possibly provide on her own: one-on-one instruction time. “The kids that are involved in it definitely improve their playing, and they’re getting a lot more excited,” about the program in general, Pivirotto said. The collaboration kicked off with six Karns City students exchanging videos with SRU students. The high-schoolers would use the iPads and Coach’s Eye to capture short videos of them performing with their instruments. Their student mentors at SRU reviewed the videos, used Coach’s Eye to add comments and instructions, and sent back their own videos to Karns City. The video exchange program is now in its fourth semester and showcased SRU students’ adaptability and desire to connect with people they won’t meet in person until the end of the semester. Read more on this story at www.butlereagle.com.