Mobile learning: Using application Auralbook to learn aural skills

Mobile learning communities

Technologies can be used to support the formal education of children in mobile learning communities. Interactions with technologies have both enabled and constrained learning in mobile communities. Pachler (2010) explained that mobile learning is slowly establishing itself as a field in its own right. However, there still exists a lack of clarity about what is best understood by the term and if there is a need for a separate field of enquiry on mobile learning. One defining feature of mobile learning is “the need for individuals to go beyond the acquisition of knowledge relevant to issues encountered in the world but also to shape their knowledge out of the own sense of their world” (Kress & Pachler, 2007, p. 22).

Leong (2011) navigated through several key predictions and recent developments relevant to music education and technology, and urged for a new music education future that is strongly linked with the global knowledge economy in the digital and conceptual age. The Horizon Report (Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine, & Haywood, 2011) has identified six emerging technologies or practices that are likely to enter mainstream use (i.e., with widespread adoption) within the next five years:

In this study, the conceptual framework of the 3M model aligns with game-based learning, such as learning aural skills in a mobile way as an e-aural book. Children learn aural skills in the digital age as playing aural games, for example, singing with real-time recording, clapping with musical excerpts, listening and identifying chords, intervals, progressions and genres. Immediate feedback is provided and evaluation can be sent to teachers and parents through cloud computing as records of assessment in the digitized world.

Researching mobile learning

Mobile learning differs from learning in the classroom or on a desktop computer in its support for education across contexts and life transitions. Sharples (2009) stated that mobile learning poses substantial problems for evaluation, if the context is not fixed and if the activity can span formal and informal settings. There may be no fixed point to locate an observer. The learning may spread across locations and times. There may be no prescribed curriculum and lesson plan. In this study, effectiveness and satisfaction are evaluated in this music mobile learning research project.

Most research to date is limited and situated in the music classroom or studio setting. Most of the research has concentrated either on the pedagogical use of various technologies and how to normalize them into specific pedagogy or to study independent and outcome-driven learning variables. Sole (2009) argued that the advent of mobile learning is a strong reminder that learning does not happen in neutral, aseptic places that just act as the background of learning. Technology opens up new possibilities for learners’ agency and the creation of new social practices in learning.

In order to open up new practices in learning, an innovative methodology requires that the roles of researcher and research are democratized and refined by inviting the learner to participate in the research process. In this study, the data retrieval and capturing of data has overcome the limitations of time, space, and continents as a new research methodology to evaluate the effectiveness and viability of mobile learning in aural skills.

Intrinsic motivation

Motivation is a theoretical construct used to explain the initiation, direction, intensity, and persistence of behavior, especially goal-directed behavior (Brophy, 1998). A person can be motivated to pursue an activity either intrinsically or extrinsically. Intrinsic motivation will be enhanced by conditions that support people’s experience of being autonomous and competent. An example of how a student might express high intrinsic motivation during a music lesson would be to show a high and enduring level of interest, to seek out and find pleasure in optimal challenges, and to say things such as “This is Fun” (Renwick & Reeve, 2012). In this research, game-based learning is involved in this study to see how the students are motivated intrinsically, whereas the ABRSM practical exam is an extrinsic motivation to optimize the goal learning in the musical development of a child.

Flow theory

According to the Flow Theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), children who are assigned or who adopt achievement goals that are very challenging, such that the amount of challenge far exceeds their skills, would experience anxiety and diminished motivation for learning. Alternatively, children who are given or who choose very easy goals such that their skill far exceeds the amount of challenge presented would experience boredom and diminished motivation for learning. In mobile learning, users can choose their own level of difficulties according to their acquired aural skills to build up their own confidence in learning aural skills in an individual way. When they can achieve a certain level of clapping, they can proceed into a more difficult task provided by the application. If they are weak in singing, they can stay in the same level and improve themselves accordingly. Therefore, mobile learning can become customized learning – work at your own pace to maintain both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to learn aural skills.

Musicianship and aural skills

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music (Kennedy & Kennedy, 2007), the word “musicianship” originated between 1865 and 1870 and was described as “musician + ship”. The word “musician” is defined as a person who made music by playing or conducting. The word “ship” is described as art and skill in performing music. As music majors in an undergraduate program, students are required to study musicianship courses including sight-singing and ear-training. “Aural skills” are often described as a part of musicianship and referred to as the hearing eye and the seeing ear (Beckman, 2011). The hearing eye can look at a piece of music and hear it in the mind and subsequently reproduce it with the voice or another instrument. The seeing ear can hear a piece of music and translate it into written notation. Common exercises found in aural skills and ear training classes that reflect the hearing eye and the seeing ear are sight-singing, rhythmic reading, error detection, melodic dictation, and harmonic dictation. However, with a mere attainment in aural skills one would not become a “musician” – a musical person. More importantly, the “ship” – art and skill in performing music – has to be combined and integrated into the performance in order to produce a musical performance.

Musicality

Hallam (2006, p. 122) defined the word “musicality” as of being “musical”. The adjective “musical” is often attached to a range of other terms, for example, ability, aptitude, talent, and potential. The term “musicality” has been adopted when considering whether being “musical” is a species-specific characteristic of human beings. Welch (2005) claimed that:

Assuming normal neurological functioning and development, we are all musical. Our musical development begins pre-birth, with musical behaviours in one form or another being evident across the lifespan. Nevertheless, early enculturation can both foster and hinder musical development and the realization of our musical potential. This means that we come to school having had a diverse range of musical experiences and, as a result, collectively demonstrate a continuum of skilled musical behaviours and attitudes to music. Consequently, the focus for music education should be to provide differentiated musical experiences that match the needs of each individual. (p. 117)

Based on this definition, the rationale of this study is that each individual can be a musical person provided that early enculturation can foster musical development and the realization of one’s musical potential in both art and skill in performance. Therefore, there is no doubt that aural skills become an inevitable part in the process of musicianship and musicality.

Online survey

In Table 1, an online survey was conducted to know the interest and motivation of the users. The sample size (N = 73) was 73 users from different countries around the world. An evaluation questionnaire with eight questions in a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree) was sent to the application user to study the reasons behind why they used it and how they rated the application in each area.

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Table 1.

Online survey questions.

Q1	I think Auralbook can motivate me to learn aural skills.
Q2	I think Auralbook can enhance my aural skills.
Q3	I think Auralbook is better than the traditional aural textbook.
Q4	I think the cloud computing in Auralbook can enhance my learning.
Q5	What score would you rate the singing (Grade 1 to 8) exercise in Auralbook?
Q6	What score would you rate the clapping (Grade 1 to 7) exercise in Auralbook?
Q7	What score would you rate the feature (stylistic recognition) (Grade 1 to 8) exercise in Auralbook?
Q8	Overall, what score would you rate Auralbook?

File analysis

An analysis of data file was randomly selected from the database of the application Auralbook. The sample size (N = 196) was 196 valid frequent users. The retrieval of the data collection was based on three levels – beginner (ABRSM Grades 1–3), intermediate level (ABRSM Grades 4–5), and advanced level (ABRSM Grades 6–8). There were 196 frequent login users selected from different levels in two stages. The first stage is to select frequent users and the second stage is to select valid frequent users.

Individual interviews

Semi-structured individual interviews with studio teachers were conducted. Two piano teachers were interviewed with the following questions to understand how they used the application with the daily instrumental lessons and reflected on what they thought of it as a mobile learning exercise.

Triangulation

A triangulation of the above-mentioned three data sources – users’ survey, file analysis, and teachers’ interview formulated a proposed model in mobile learning to learn aural skills. In this study, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The results of the study were derived in three stages. The first stage was to overview the mobile learning in aural skills through an online survey. The second stage was to observe the progress of learning in the starting and ending mean scores within six months through the file analysis. The third stage was to collect views, feedback, and insights from the in-service piano teachers who were currently using the application in their daily teaching practice. The scope of the study was from a macro level zooming to a micro level in order to obtain a broader perspective with an in-depth understanding in this study.

Sample selection

The data used in the file analysis part were selected from the database of AuralBook. The data collection was based on three levels: beginner (ABRSM Grades 1–3), intermediate level (ABRSM Grades 4–5), and advanced level (ABRSM Grades 6–8). The three assessment areas are clapping, singing, and feature (stylistic recognition). Frequent users were selected from each level and the relationship between the frequency of using the application in a specific period of six months and quantifying their aural musicianship development was studied.

Validity

Tables 2, 3, and 4 show the total number of records, the number of selected frequent users, and the number of invalid users for each area – clapping, singing, and feature – to demonstrate the validity in this research.

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Table 2.

Valid samples in clapping.

Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
Total number of records	830	485	544	256	294	81	46	2536
Selected	13	12	8	9	5	4	2	53
Invalid	3		1	2				6
Chosen for analysis	10	12	7	7	5	4	2	47

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Table 3.

Valid samples in singing.

Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total
Total number of records	576	353	280	79	167	63	64	132	1714
Selected	12	9	7	3	5	4	2	3	45
Invalid	4			1
Chosen for analysis	8	9	7	2	5	4	2	3	40

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Table 4.

Valid samples in feature.

Grade and Part	1a	1b	2a	2b	3a	3c	4a	5a	6a	6b	7a	7b	7c	8a	8b	8c	Total
Total number of records	949	836	443	420	521	500	357	435	175	116	183	130	135	313	199	260	5972
Selected	10	8	10	10	8	10	7	9	6	5	6	5	5	7	6	7	119
Invalid	1	1	2		1	2		1						1		1	10
Chosen for analysis	9	7	8	10	7	8	7	8	6	5	6	5	5	6	6	6	109

Note: In Grade 1–3, Part “a” is identifying changes and Part “b” is answering questions. In Grade 4–5, Part “a” is answering questions. In Grade 6–8, Part “a” is identifying chords and cadences, Part “b” is answering questions, and Part “c” is identifying modulations.

Data analysis

The data analysis mainly focused on the difference between starting and ending means of the valid frequent users. The starting and ending means were calculated by the average of records between September 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013. Since the apps can be used by anyone, a pre-screening process was done in clapping and singing parts to ensure the validity of the records. All invalid records of analysis were not included. The following cases were considered as invalid records of analysis:

Apart from the above cases, the remaining records will be considered as valid records for analysis.

Reliability

Since the record was retrieved from the database of Auralbook, mean scores were calculated from the selected samples as starting and ending mean scores in a period of six months dating from September 1, 2013 to March 30, 2013. The score is a reliable source of data to demonstrate the progress of learning and the effectiveness of the 3M model in conceptual framework to implement the concept of the e-aural book. This experimental research can be served as a reference point to both the studio instrumental teachers and classroom music teachers.

Since this research involved only the randomly selected samples without any human involvement, no ethical issues were required in data sources one and two. For data source three, individual interview, consent forms were signed by the human subjects when qualitative data were collected.

Online survey

Geographical distribution of the respondents

A total of 73 respondents replied to this survey. The majority came from Hong Kong (24%), followed by the United Kingdom (22%), the United States of America (8%), Singapore (9%), and Malaysia (8%). This geographical distribution represents different parts of the world and maintains the reliability of this research as a globalized study. Figure 2 shows the geographical distributions of the respondents.

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Figure 2.

Geographical distribution of the respondents.

Survey results

Shown in Table 5, the mean scores of Q1 and Q2 are 4.36 and 4.39 respectively. There were 89.19% of users agreeing/strongly agreeing that Auralbook can motivate them to learn aural skills while 94.59% of users agreeing/strongly agreeing that Auralbook could enhance their aural skills. On the other hand, in Q3 and Q4, 9.6% of users disagreed/strongly disagreed that the e-aural book is better than the traditional aural book and 32.43% of users were “neutral” in using cloud computing to enhance their learning. In Q5, Q6, and Q7, the users held the same mean score of 4.24 in rating the singing and clapping function whereas the users had a lower mean score of 4.11 in rating feature (style recognition). Overall, the users rated 4.38 out of 5 to Auralbook in Q8.

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Table 5.

Results of the online survey.

Question	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree	Mean Score
Q1. I think Auralbook can motivate me to learn aural skills	2.70%	1.35%	6.76%	35.14%	54.05%	4.36
Q2. I think Auralbook can enhance my aural skills	4.05%	0.00%	1.35%	41.89%	52.70%	4.39
Q3. I think Auralbook is better than the traditional aural textbook	2.70%	6.76%	14.86%	35.14%	40.54%	4.04
Q4. I think the cloud computing in Auralbook can enhance my learning	1.35%	2.70%	32.43%	33.78%	29.73%	3.88
Q5. What score would you rate the singing (Grade 1 to 8) exercise in Auralbook?	0.00%	5.41%	8.11%	43.24%	43.24%	4.24
Q6. What score would you rate the clapping (Grade1 to 7) exercise in Auralbook?	0.00%	4.05%	9.46%	44.59%	41.89%	4.24
Q7. What score would you rate the feature (Grade 1 to 8) exercise in Auralbook?	0.00%	2.70%	16.22%	48.65%	32.43%	4.11
Q8. Overall, what score would you rate Auralbook?	0.00%	1.35%	5.41%	47.30%	45.95%	4.38

File analysis

Overall performance

In Table 6, the overall performance of the frequent valid users in clapping, singing, and feature is shown. In the area of clapping, the most substantial result was at the beginner level (Grade 1–3) with a mean score difference of 6.03. In the area of singing, the most substantial result was at the intermediate level (Grade 4–5) with a mean score difference of 4.29. In the area of feature, the most substantial result was at the beginner level (Grade 1–3) with a mean score difference of 7.21. The data revealed that the score differences were substantial in both clapping and feature at the beginner level. However, the singing part had only 1.05 differences at the beginner level. The score differences started to increase at intermediate level (Grade 4–5). To sum up, Auralbook is found as an effective tool in learning aural skills in the areas of clapping and feature particularly at the beginner level and effective in the area of singing at the intermediate level.

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Table 6.

Overall performance of the frequent valid users in clapping, singing, and feature.

	Clapping		Singing		Feature
	Start Mean	End Mean	Start Mean	End Mean	Start Mean	End Mean
Grade 1–3	24.91	30.94	33.55	34.61	33.13	40.34
Grade 4–5	34.83	39.37	33.14	37.43	26.15	32.23
Grade 6–8(clapping only 6–7)	32.77	36.89	23.15	25.85	26.22	29.66
	Percentage Change	Difference	Percentage Change	Difference	Percentage Change	Difference
Grade 1–3	24.22	6.03	3.14	1.05	21.77	7.21
Grade 4–5	13.02	4.54	12.93	4.29	23.25	6.08
Grade 6–8(clapping only 6–7)	12.57	4.12	11.67	2.70	13.15	3.45

In the area of clapping shown in Figure 3, students were asked to clap the rhythm in a call and response format. The application responded in an interactive way to record the clapping and point out the timing problems and circle the inaccuracy on the notation to let the students know how to improve their sense of rhythm in details. From Figure 3, the change was substantial at all levels with score differences of 6.03, 4.54, and 4.12 respectively.

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Figure 3.

Change of mean scores at different levels (clapping).

In the area of singing shown in Figure 4, students were asked to sing a single melody in a call and response format. The application responded in an interactive way to record the singing, point out the pitch problems, and circle the inaccuracy on the notation to let the students know how to improve their singing in a detailed manner. From Figure 4, the change was not substantial at beginner levels with a score difference of 1.05, but more substantial at intermediate and advanced levels with score differences of 4.29 and 2.70 respectively. In this area, the design of the application may need further improvement in circling the inaccuracy of the pitches because human singing cannot be as exactly accurate as the kHz in a mechanical way. Therefore, the design of the application might affect the result of the mean score differences.

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Figure 4.

Change of mean scores at different levels (singing).

In the area of stylistic recognition shown in Figure 5, students were asked to listen and recognize different musical elements including pitch, rhythm, harmony, form, and texture at different levels. After listening to the excerpts provided by application Auralbook, students were asked to answer questions on the application to identify the characteristics of the piece according to the standard which was set by the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM). A score was provided to inform the student their strengths and weaknesses. From the findings, the change was substantial at all levels with score differences of 7.21, 6.08, and 3.45 respectively.

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Figure 5.

Change of mean scores at different levels (feature).

Individual interviews

Individual interviews with in-service studio teachers were conducted. Two piano teachers were interviewed to investigate how they used the application with the daily instrumental lessons and to reflect on what they thought of Auralbook as a mobile learning exercise. Teacher A was at the time a Year 3 student studying in the Bachelor of Arts (Hon) in Creative Arts and Culture (Music) program at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. She taught piano for more than 10 years for children and adults. Teacher B was a Year 4 student studying in the Bachelor of Education (Music) at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. He obtained the LTCL piano diploma from the Trinity College of Music and had five years’ of experience in teaching piano. An interview was conducted after they had used this application in their one-to-one studio teaching for a month to collect their feedback and comments toward the e-aural book:

Teacher A: Students responded that they were very happy and excited when using Auralbook. It seemed that they liked to use the app to practice aural skills. Overall speaking, I found that their learning motivation in the e-aural book was higher than the traditional aural book.

Teacher B: Students liked this application very much. They considered practicing aural skills through the app just like playing games. Their learning motivation was quite high.

Teacher A: Yes, their aural skills were improved after using the apps, especially using the clapping and singing part.

Teacher B: They generally had little improvement. From my observation, the students had the most significant improvement in the clapping part.

Teacher A: Yes, but the effectiveness fairly depends on the attitude of the students, that is, how the students learn aural skills through this app in a systematic way with the guidance of the teachers and support of the parents.

Teacher B: It is quite effective in aural teaching as students have higher motivation with the assistance of this app. I think motivation is the most important thing in learning aural skills to keep on improving their singing, rhythmic and listening skills in the long run. The blended learning approach could be a new mode of learning in aural skills in the future, especially for primary and secondary school students.

Teacher A: Yes, the idea of blended learning is good. However, the children may overuse technology. For example, they may shift to play other applications during practice. Sometimes, children may argue with their parents that the teacher requests them to practice aural skills by using the application so that they can spend more time on electronic devices. The monitoring process becomes an issue for parents and teachers.

Teacher B: Yes, this kind of learning approach is not only useful in enhancing aural skills, but also in other music areas such as music theory. The Auralbook provides a different learning mode other than traditional learning modes in aural skills. The most important thing is the app can show the notation of the user’s performance and how they can be improved in the clapping and singing part. The final score in different areas is a good way to let the students know their strengths and weaknesses as immediate feedback during the learning process. Finally, the application can be improved if the explanations can be more detailed in the feature (stylistic recognition) part.

Response to research questions

From Table 5, the mean scores of Q1 and Q2 are 4.36 and 4.39 respectively. In Q5, Q6, and Q7, there is the same mean score of 4.24 in rating the singing and clapping functions whereas there is a lower mean score of 4.11 in rating feature (style recognition). Furthermore, the users rate Auralbook 4.38 out of 5 in Q8. Overall, Auralbook is an effective tool particularly in singing and clapping parts, but the stylistic recognition needs improvement in the e-aural book development in the future. Teachers from the interview express that the application can be improved if the explanations can be more detailed in the feature (stylistic recognition) part.

In Table 6, the overall performance of the frequent valid users in clapping, singing, and feature is shown. The data revealed that the score differences are substantial in both clapping and feature at the beginner level. However, the score differences of the singing part start to increase at the intermediate level (Grade 4–5). Overall, Auralbook is found as an effective tool in learning aural skills in the areas of clapping and feature particularly at the beginner level and effective in the area of singing at the intermediate level. This data implies that the singing part requires more time for the users to control the way they sing in terms of pitch and rhythm. As a recording tool in checking accuracy, the software needs some fine-tuning in correcting pitches and accuracy so that this application is not discouraging to some of the new users who are weak in singing.

From the teachers’ interviews, the studio teachers respond that the effectiveness fairly depends on the attitude of the students, that is, how the students learn aural skills through this app in a systematic way with the guidance of the teachers and support of the parents. Motivation plays a significant role in learning aural skills in order to keep improving students’ singing, rhythmic, and listening skills in the long run. The blended learning approach could be a new mode of learning in aural skills in the future, especially for primary and secondary school students. Furthermore, the monitoring process becomes an issue for parents and teachers.

Theoretical framework

In Figure 6, the theoretical framework of this study is proposed from the 3M approach: a) Mobile learning; b) Motivation and c) Musicianship, which has previously been discussed in Figure 1.

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Figure 6.

Theoretical framework of 3M: Mobile learning, motivation, and musicianship.

Mobile learning

In the response to research question one, a majority of the users agree or strongly agree that Auralbook can motivate them to learn aural skills. The relationship between mobile learning and motivation in music is clearly stated and established. From the literature, Leong (2011) foreshadowed that game-based learning would be a trend within two to three years. From the teachers’ interview, students expressed that they learn aural skills like playing games with this app. Based on the findings of the study, it is implied that the faster the technology advancement in mobile learning, the higher the learner involvement to learn aural skills in motivation. However, in response to research question 3, the monitoring process becomes an issue for studio teachers. Cloud computing is suggested to let the teachers and parents know the progress of learning in this application. Therefore teachers’ training in mobile learning is crucial for the music technology course at the tertiary institutions.

Motivation

In this study, intrinsic motivation is proposed in using mobile technology to learn aural skills. The traditional aural books have been used for decades. With the advancement of technology, the e-aural book is suggested in the mode of blended learning which means that teachers can monitor the progress of learning of each student through cloud technology to adjust the teaching strategy in the process of learning. For example, if a student who is weak in sight-singing indicated in Auralbook, the teacher can provide more assistance such as singing posture, tone production, and breath control. In studio teaching, time is very limited and teachers can focus more on teaching according to the individual needs of the each student. In response to research question 2, Auralbook is found as an effective tool in learning aural skills in the areas of clapping and feature particularly at the beginner level and effective in the areas of singing at the intermediate level. This implies that the singing part requires more time for the users to control the way they sing in terms of pitch and rhythm. Therefore, intrinsic motivation is vital to sustain the learner’s involvement to keep improving sight-singing skills as a part of the learning process in musicianship. Based on the findings of the study, the higher the learner involves in motivation, the more the musicianship can be enhanced.

Musicianship

Welch (2005) claimed that “assuming normal neurological functioning and development, we are all musical” (p.117). Based on this rationale, each individual can be a musical person provided that early enculturation can foster musical development and the realization of one’s musical potential in both art and skill in performance. There is no doubt that aural skill plays an important role in training professional musicians to have the “hearing eye and the seeing ear” (Beckman, 2011). This study has provided the evidence and data to reveal the effectiveness in using mobile devices to learn aural skills in terms of intrinsic motivation and musicianship enhancement from 196 valid frequent users from 18 countries around the globe.