The Place of Music in 21st Century Education (Coursera)

The Place of Music in 21st Century Education (Coursera)

What do children need from education now, and in the future? How is technology best used in teaching and learning? How can innovative approaches to education be reconciled with established, traditional ones? What does student-centred learning really mean? This five module course is not just for classroom or ensemble music educators. It’s suitable for anyone interested in creativity-infused education, in contemporary education issues, and in the integration and use of digital technology.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

It’s designed to challenge old paradigms, to inspire innovative and creative pedagogical philosophies, and to develop your ability to critically respond to the latest research.
We’ll visit schools with vastly different approaches to learning and teaching, and meet inspiring teachers and principals. We’ll venture inside the classroom to closely observe how technology is integrated with music education – or how it’s decidedly not!
We’ll talk to international leaders and experts about innovative and traditional approaches to music education, and I’ll provide insights from my own practice as well as from some of my students.
I’ll be provoking you to think critically and creatively, to develop your own ideas and theories around students’ educational needs and the impact of digital technologies, now and into the future.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Technology in (music) education
What does music education look like with and without technology?

WEEK 2
Aliens
Hein: "Why does classroom music seem alien?"

WEEK 3
Inspiring Research
If we can learn music from the cloud, do we need music teachers?

WEEK 4
The good news
What opportunities do new technologies afford music education?

WEEK 5
To infinity and beyond
What would a pluralist music education look like?

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

The Art of Vocal Production (Coursera) Coursera
Berklee College of Music

The Art of Vocal Production (Coursera)

This course addresses recorded vocal performances and the technologies used to highlight and support them in modern record production and mixes. Most of us know that vocals serve as the focal point of modern recordings but many do not know the tools used or when the tools are used best in modern record production. The course begins with simple vocal placement in a mix, where you will also learn the fundamentals of compression and equalization. You’ll further study delays and reverbs before moving to advanced concepts in audio editing, synthetic processing, automatic & graphic pitch correction, time compression, time expansion, flex and elastic audio.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Pro Tools Basics (Coursera) Coursera
Berklee College of Music

Pro Tools Basics (Coursera)

Producing music is an incredibly creative process, and knowing the tools of the trade is essential in order to transmit the musical ideas in your head into the DAW in a creative and uninhibited way. Whether you have used a computer to create music before, or you have been curious about production for years, this 4-week course will give you an introductory look into the world of Avid Pro Tools and Pro Tools First.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
History of Rock, Part One (Coursera) Coursera
University of Rochester

History of Rock, Part One (Coursera)

This course, part 1 of a 2-course sequence, examines the history of rock, primarily as it unfolded in the United States, from the days before rock (pre-1955) to the end of the 1960s. This course covers the music of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Phil Spector, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and many more artists, with an emphasis both on cultural context and on the music itself. We will also explore how developments in the music business and in technology helped shape the ways in which styles developed.

Aug 31st 2026
5-12 Weeks
Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas Part 4 (Coursera) Coursera
Curtis Institute of Music

Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas Part 4 (Coursera)

Please join us for Part 4 of Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas course, taught by Curtis faculty member and extraordinary concert artist, Jonathan Biss. This course is new and contains separate sets of lectures and sonatas that we not previously discussed. Specifically, in Part 4, we will cover Beethoven's Piano Sonatas Op. 2, No. 2, Op. 10, No. 3, Op. 28 and Op. 110.

Sep 11th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Music and Social Action (Coursera) Coursera
Yale University

Music and Social Action (Coursera)

What is a musician’s response to the condition of the world? Do musicians have an obligation and an opportunity to serve the needs of the world with their musicianship? At a time of crisis for the classical music profession, with a changing commercial landscape, a shrinking audience base, and a contraction in the number of professional orchestras, how does a young musician construct a career today? Are we looking at a dying art form or a moment of reinvigoration?

Sep 7th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Formación docente basada en la práctica para desarrollar habilidades del siglo XXI (Coursera) Coursera
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Formación docente basada en la práctica para desarrollar habilidades del siglo XXI (Coursera)

El curso presenta, en primer lugar, las habilidades del siglo XXI y su relevancia para la formación docente con el fin de preparar docentes para la sociedad del conocimiento, capaces de pensar de manera crítica y creativa y con habilidades de comunicación y colaboración para promover oportunidades de aprendizaje equitativas y de calidad en los contextos escolares. En segundo lugar, se discute sobre el enfoque basado en la práctica para la formación docente y la necesidad de ofrecer andamiajes que les permitan a los docentes aprender a poner en acto prácticas generativas complejas que requieren conocimientos especializados.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Blues: Understanding and Performing an American Art Form (Coursera) Coursera
University of Rochester

The Blues: Understanding and Performing an American Art Form (Coursera)

The blues is an American art form and the most important musical form in jazz. Although there are other formal paradigms of the blues, such as 8-bar or 16-bar, this course focuses on different incarnations of the 12-bar blues. There are considerable differences between Early Jazz blues, Swing blues, Bebop blues, Modal blues, and Post Bop blues.

Sep 7th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Teoria Musical (Coursera) Coursera
Berklee College of Music

Teoria Musical (Coursera)

Explore os elementos básicos que compoem a música, desenvolva sua percepção, tire músicas de ouvido, e aprenda a ler e escrever usando notação musical. Procuramos criar um curso que unisse a cultura e música brasileira com técnicas de aprendizado de solfejo e leitura rítmica. Você fará parte de uma aula de Percepção Musical ("Ear Training") na Berklee College of Music, cantando e praticando com outros alunos e interagindo com os vídeos. Além disso, você terá acesso a material para praticar, como faixas de acompanhamento e partituras.

Sep 7th 2026
5-12 Weeks
La transformation numérique (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia,Boston Consulting Group - BCG

La transformation numérique (Coursera)

La transformation numérique est un sujet brûlant, mais en quoi consiste-t-elle exactement et que signifie-t-elle pour les entreprises ? Dans ce cours, développé à la Darden School of Business à l'Université de Virginie, et encadré par les meilleurs experts en gestion globale de la faculté de Darden et du Boston Consulting Group, nous abordons la transformation numérique de deux manières. Nous analysons tout d'abord le rythme du changement et les impératifs que cela crée pour les entreprises.

Sep 7th 2026
4 Weeks