Exploring Online Discussion Forums for Music Teachers

Online discussion forums and groups are a great way for solopreneurs to brainstorm and troubleshoot with colleagues. Think of them as virtual coffee rooms or water cooler areas.

My first introduction to online music teacher groups was the Canadian Piano Pedagogy Group. Shortly thereafter, I joined a couple of music teacher groups on LinkedIn.

These days, I've been more active in two groups. The first is the Alberta Piano Teachers' Association's Facebook Group (APTA). The second is worldwide - The Art of Piano Pedagogy. 

What I like about these groups is that they aren't limited to where I teach. APTA's FB group has over 70 members from across Alberta, while The Art of Pedagogy has over 3,100 members worldwide. There are variances to how each city state or town, province or state, country or continent tackles the art of music teaching.

By plugging into these groups and into this "world brain" of music education knowledge, music teachers young and old can draw upon this highly dynamic library. Not only that, just like another famous online community that I am part of, these groups also provide encouragement and support when teachers are going through challenging times or life transitions.

If you are feeling a little isolated (which is common for any solopreneur), or you feel like you need to re-energize your teaching without having to travel far, online discussion groups are a great way to go. The solopreneur does not have to be alone!

Piano Pedagogy Links

I haven't started lesson planning for the 2007/08 year yet. I planned to catch up on my bookkeeping and registrations this week before moving onto to lesson plans; but I am taking longer than I thought I would on updating my address book. Of course, it doesn't help that this is the worst month for me and allergies. I refuse to do any bookkeeping when my head is in a perpetual foggy, sniffly, snivelly and sneezy state. However, I'm almost done my address book project and I think I finally found an allergy/sinus combination that is breaking through that fog; so I'll have no more excuses. I will have to do my bookkeeping.

For my colleagues who are doing their lesson planning now (or plan to do so soon), here are a few online resources I've stumbled upon. Hopefully, we can gleam some gems from these:

1. Piano Pedagogy Forum

2. Can-Pno-Ped

3. Music Pedagogy

I may have posted a couple of these in a previous entry, but it would have been a while back.My apologies for the list being piano heavy. Feel free to write submit websites, book titles, periodicals that you use to help with lesson planning - all instruments welcome.

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.~