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author: Ivana Krsmanović
When the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily confined us to our houses in 2020, nobody had expected it would change the way we live and work for good. What used to be an alternative to regular communication and work, became an exclusive means of social interaction. Such a sudden shift to the exclusively online environment also affected the learning practices of students worldwide, at the same time forcing many teachers to modify their instruction to make it more flexible in the newly formed hybrid teaching reality. Not surprisingly, as people were stuck in lockdowns and left to their computers, the number of users of the available online courses across many diverse disciplines and fields skyrocketed, thus counting thousands, even millions of new learners every day.
In those unprecedented circumstances, an unusual online musical course managed to enrol more than 300 adult learners. Namely, a Serbian IT business developed an online course on how to learn to play the accordion, in a traditional, folk music style. As it is clearly explained in the introductory video of the course, anyone who possesses an accordion can learn to play a few melodies – people who used to play and forgot the basics, those who have some humble musical skills but strong will, even those who cannot read notes and will learn to ,, play by the ear’’. The course was designed by an expert team of musical practitioners from Belgrade and Čačak, who all have a long history of teaching in the field of ethnomusicology and folk music. The curriculum consists of 30 video lectures that focus on one aspect of the skill each, accompanied by exhaustive written instructions related to the specific unit. After a lesson content is delivered through a protected platform every week, learners have time to practise, upload their video homework, or chat in the closed Facebook group about the learning obstacles they encounter. Once a week, the instructor provides an additional learning hour for those who need further assistance. The course is open for newcomers and the group of learners grows every day.
However, it is not the means of instruction that fascinated people engaged in the course. What emerges as an added value of the course, was the bonding quality of this learning experience. As the students mainly come from the ex-Yu republics or the Balkans, or they live in a diaspora (Serbia, Croatia, BiH, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Australia, USA, Sweden, Macedonia, Bulgaria, England), they all speak the same language. Many of the 300 learners have made new friends, some of them have formed small orchestras and ensembles, or even found distant relatives. All learners demonstrate quite supportive behaviour towards their peers.
The Balkan musical heritage was a just starting point of this lifelong learning example of good practice, but many additional benefits for the learners were just brought along the way. A safe and secluded learning place materialized in a protected learning platform, has revealed a miraculous world of its own – learners started from scratch but have had an experienced educator while they share their learning experiences with dozens of other traditional music lovers. The reasons why they decided to give it a try in the first place were numerous: some students signed up for the course to provide more quality time for themselves in the quarantine, others to fulfil their childhood wishes, and some to regain the lost connections with their countrymen who share the same passion for music. Many could not afford the instrument earlier, others were shy to start learning in their mature years, and some were people of determination with moving disabilities so going to a regular school was a serious obstacle. A significant number of them confessed to only having made room for learning to play the instrument once they had retired.
We can draw several conclusions from this example of good practice. Firstly, this online musical course proves that there is a market for courses that teach performing skills. Bearing in mind that courses for adult learners in such a specific competence are rare, educational and IT sectors could work more on providing other diverse, interdisciplinary non-formal projects that would specifically target adults, as they certainly make up a big proportion of obviously interested learners. Secondly, this proves that in terms of digital skills, adult learners should not be underestimated: a curriculum that deploys an online or hybrid instruction approach is what this population can easily adopt. Thirdly, cultural content as a base for course development is what learners perceive as valuable, and something can easily relate to. Indeed, cultural heritage remains to be rich in educational opportunities for adult learners, and in the contemporary context, acquiring skills related to culture (music, art, drama, writing, dance etc.) bears significant potential for course designers and policymakers.
Finally, developing alternative educational paths for adult learners signalizes that, in future, more attention should be dedicated to the educational needs of the adult population, as it builds on their overall readiness and capacity to get involved in enhancing their lifelong learning strategies.
*Winner essay of the EPALE contest ,,Just play by the ear’’: adult learners and music | EPALE (europa.eu)