HERE IS SO MUCH WRITTEN about online learning. The buzzwords have been flying thick and fast for decades. Each new idea promises new heights of engagement and pedagogical excellence. Much of it has boiled down to instructional videos and quizzes, simple ideas in themselves, but they can be very useful.
One hurdle when teaching Gregorian chant, or any music in Latin, is the language. Having a translation on the music helps, and eager choir members might take the initiative to figure out the word for word correspondence between the Latin and the translation, but there are still big gaping holes in your average choir member’s understanding of what they are singing. Holes that would be easy to fill if there was more time.
For an example, see An Exposition On The First Few Lines Of The Lord’s Prayer using a slideshow, a set of flashcards thanks to Quizlet, a crossword puzzle and a Google Form to provide some feedback on how students are going.
This is still a work in progress. I have tried some of these things from time to time in years gone by. Time will tell what helps and what hinders. For the translations I refer to The Catholic’s Latin Instructor by Fr Edward Caswall.
