Berklee College of Music: the Mac and Education David Mash Vice President for Information Technology dmash@berklee.edu www.berklee.edu www.berkleemusic.com www.berkleeshares.com www.mashine.com
Founded in 1945 Overview: Focus on contemporary music education The largest undergraduate music college in the world: 4000 full-time undergraduate students 600 faculty 30% International, representing 72 countries
Academic Structure First-year core music program 15 majors in 4 divisions: Professional Writing Professional Performance Professional Education Music Technology
Core Studies Writing skills (composition, arranging, notation) Harmony Ear Training Principle instrument Private instruction Instrumental labs (group lessons) Ensemble performance Liberal Arts
Professional Writing Song Writing Film Scoring Composition Jazz Composition Contemporary Writing and Production
Professional Performance All standard instrumental majors: Brass, Woodwinds, Strings, Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drums & Percussion, Piano & Keyboards. Ensemble performance almost 1000 ensemble classes scheduled, and over 800 concerts performed each year.
Professional Education Music Education Music Therapy Music Business Professional Music Liberal Arts (not a major)
Music Technology Music Production and Engineering (MP&E) Audio recording and production techniques Music Synthesis Sound design Electronic production Multimedia
History of Technology Innovation: Recording program and electronic music introduced in 1970 Began using computers in classrooms in 1983. Our first multi-station music labs with Macs in 1986 Music technology required as a core freshman course in 1990 Laptop computers required of all students starting in 2002 Music technology used throughout the curriculum since 1990
Why Macintosh? We built our first lab with computers in 1986 At that time, the Mac was the ONLY choice for music at a professional level. Apple had a commitment to music even then: Macintosh, MIDI, and Music: The Open Door video released in 1988. Apple continues to lead as a music platform with CoreAudio and CoreMIDI in OSX. Better performance, lower latency, and continued innovation.
A Modern Music Education Requires: Up-to-date facilities A contemporary faculty A modern curriculum Technology support
Facilities Classrooms Labs Ensemble Rooms Practice Rooms Performance Spaces
Classrooms
Labs
Transitional Period From the computer as control center of the studio To the computer as the music studio itself
Educational Transformation From the institution as provider of the technology To enabling the student through personal technology
The New Model Students own the technology The institution provides support: Acquisition Software Applications
The Berklee Laptop Program The Laptop Package (BLPP) Major Bundles Purchasing Licensing Imaging Distribution New Services
The Laptop Package 15 Apple PowerBook, 4-years of AppleCare & Insurance USB MIDI keyboard MS Office, NoteTaker GarageBand, Logic Express Reason Finale/SmartMusic Our first distribution required 1500 participants, 2600 enrolled
Major Bundles Designed to support specific curriculum by major Hardware (audio interfaces, microphones...) Software - specific packages: Logic Pro Peak Pro Tools Amazing Slow Downer
Purchasing Laptops are purchased direct from Apple through the education channel Music hardware is purchased directly from the manufacturer Quantity provides us with purchasing power
Software Licensing Berklee licenses software for 4500-5000 seats (enough for students, faculty, and lab machines) Berklee distributes the software to students on the laptop, and updates are provided through the campus network, so all students and faculty have the same version When students leave, they are licensed to continue using the version on their machine, but further updates require purchase from the manufacturer
Imaging Berklee images all the laptops before delivering them to students The image contains all software and any needed drivers and configuration files Students can re-image their laptops at any time while on our campus network
Imaging System Three Apple Xserves and one X-RAID. Two Xserves are connected to the RAID, one per side, and the other Xserve uses two 500GB, built in drives for storage. Imaging software: Bombich s NetRestore. The Xserves are connected to a 48 port, gigabit switch on a closed network.
Imaging Process Each laptop is taken out of the box and connected to a pre-set CAT-5 cable which is connected to the closed network switch. Power supplies are also pre-set so only the machine itself needs to be removed from the box. Once power and network are connected, the machines are turned on and the N key is held down to NetBoot the machine. We are able to keep 32 machines imaging at once and each machine takes about 25 minutes to image.
Distribution Upon receiving the laptops, each box is scanned to read the serial number, MAC ID, Ethernet ID, and Airport ID. An Inventory file is created At distribution, we scan the student ID, then the box bar code, and the laptop is attached to the student record All software authorizations, insurance, and AppleCare is related to the student record
Direct Curricular Applications Introduction to Music Technology MTEC-111 Writing Skills Harmony Ear Training (Solfege) General coursework
Faculty How has this change affected how we teach, and how our students learn? How do teachers keep up with technological change?
Impact on Teaching and Learning Students expected to complete assignments using their laptops and software Students experience their work as real music audio Computers and network resources are part of the classroom experience Online-based support materials extend the reach of the classroom Electronic portfolios now required in several majors
Faculty Development All faculty are receiving laptops & software Center for Technology in Music Instruction (CTMI) Focused instruction 1:1 support Lab for faculty use Summer faculty Reboot camps
New Technology Services Wireless Network Portal and e-learning support Email, webspace, calendaring ichat, itunes sharing, Podcasting... Student Computer Support Center
Lessons Learned Students use their laptops in ways we couldn t predict Prefer wireless connectivity to wired itunes Sharing created a huge, anarchistic radio station Pervasive computing changes the interaction between teachers and students Students are pushing the faculty toward technology
Outcomes Berklee faculty are more comfortable using technology, and feel it is having a positive impact on their students education Students are graduating with better command of technology Delivering course content through online course support materials frees up valuable in-class time for positive teacher-student interactions
Questions & Answers
Thank You! David Mash dmash@berklee.edu