EarSketch: Teaching Computer Science

Through Music

Douglas Edwards Georgia Tech CEISMC

WHY  EARSKETCH?  

•  Broaden  par*cipa*on  with  authen'c  STEAM  – Create  personal,  culturally  relevant  music  – Reference  music  industry  paradigms  (DAW)  – Learn  popular  languages  (Python,  JavaScript)  

•  No  prior  music  or  CS  background  required  

WHAT  IS  EARSKETCH?  

•  Python  /  JavaScript  code  editor  +  music  API  

•  4000+  loop  sound  library  (or  use  your  own)  –  Sound  samples  made  by  Young  Guru,    

Jay-‐Z’s  producer  &  tour  DJ  

•  Mul*-‐track  digital  audio  worksta*on  •  Curriculum  aligned  with  AP  CS  

Principles  •  Collabora*on,  sharing,  and  export  

tools  •  Teacher  Community  of  Prac*ce  •  Free  and  runs  in  Chrome,  Safari,  and  

Firefox  (no  downloads  required)  EarSketch  

EARSKETCH  INTERFACE      

12

3

4

File Browser (Music

Samples, Scripts, & API)

Console (Shows errors & Print

statements)

Digital Audio Workstation (shows visual of tracks and plays music)

Code Editor (Code Mixing)

5Curriculum (Instruction

Manual)

Panel Control

s 1

543

Create an Account

WHERE  IS  EARSKETCH?  

•  Target:  high  school  students  –  Introductory  compu*ng  courses  (e.g.  Computer  Science  Principles,  AP  CSP)  

–  Summer  camps  •  Also:  

–  College-‐level  courses  –  In  a  MOOC  –  Block  version  for  upper  elementary  and  middle  school  –  Over  50,000  unique  users  

INTEGRATING  EARSKETCH  WITHIN    AP  COMPUTER  SCIENCE  PRINCIPLES  COURSE  

First Semester Second Semester

Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Units 4 and 5 Unit 6 Unit 7 The Internet Digital

Information Introduction to Programming in EarSketch

Abstraction, Algorithms & Data

Structures in EarSketch

Big Data and Privacy

Performance Tasks

EarSketch Integration into AP CSP

•  Aligned  to  Georgia  CSP  and  AP  CSP  programming  standards  &  essen*al  knowledge  

•  Teacher  Lesson  Plans  and  Annotated  Slides  •  Slides  include  “Video  how  to”  in  EarSketch  Interface  Curriculum  Panel  or  can  

show  slides  as  a  separate  powerpoint  •  3  Units  to  teach  introductory  programming  with  a  problem  based  project  with  

student  check  sheet  rubric  for  each  unit  (9-‐12  weeks  total)  •  Mini  performance  task  for  each  major  lesson  in  each  unit  •  Mul*ple  Choice  Forma*ve  Assessment  Ques*ons  for  each  lesson  and  unit  exams  

How  can  a  music  +  CS  interven*on  increase  par*cipa*on  and  engage  a  diverse  popula*on  of  

students  in  compu*ng?  

OUR  KEY  RESEARCH  QUESTION  •  Study  of  the  occupa*onal  interests  

of  22,000  teenagers  (Journal  of  Voca*onal  Behavior)  •  African-‐American  males  were  about  

half  as  likely  to  be  interested  in  computer  programming  careers  than  white  males  but  33%  more  likely  to  be  interested  in  musical  careers  than  white  males.    

•  The  same  trend  was  found  in  other  underrepresented  groups  as  well;  girls,  for  instance,  were  more  than  40%  more  interested  in  musical  careers  than  in  computer  programming  

SAMPLE  RESEARCH  RESULTS  THUS  FAR  

1  

1.5  

2  

2.5  

3  

3.5  

4  

4.5  

5  

Confidence   Enjoyment   Importance   Mo*va*on   Belonging   Intent  to  Persist  

Crea*vity  

Pre  vs.  Post  Engagement  Survey  Results  by  Gender  Mean  Values  for  Pre  and  Post  

HS  Female  Pre   HS  Female  Post   HS  Male  Pre   HS  Male  Post  

Magerko et al. ACM TOCE 2016.

WHAT  WILL  YOU  LEARN  AT  OUR  SESSION?    

•  Gekng  started  with  EarSketch  •  How  to  make  coding  in  Python  or  Javascript  using  EarSketch  accessible  to  students  in  15  minutes  or  less  

•  How  to  Make  Beats  and  Loop  them  with  Code  •  How  to  record  your  own  sound  samples  or  upload  samples  from  a  sound  library  and  remix  them  

•  How  to  become  part  of  the  EarSketch  teacher  community  

 EarSketch  

EarSketch  receives  funding  from  the  Na*onal  Science  Founda*on  (CNS  #1138469  and  DRL  #1417835),  the  Scop  Hudgens  Family  Founda*on,  Google  CS4HS,  and  the  Arthur  M.  Blank  Family  Founda*on.      Partnership  with  Georgia  Tech’s  Center  for  Music  Technology,  Digital  Media  program,  Center  for  Educa*on  Integra*ng  Science,  Mathema*cs,  and  Compu*ng,  and  Sage  Fox  Consul*ng,  Moriarty  Research  and  Evalua*on  Associates,  and  Gwinnep  County  Public  Schools.        

EarSketch  

WHEN  AND  WHERE  IS  THE  EARSKETCH  SESSION?  

• Wednesday, June 28, 11:30 am–12:30 pm CDT (Central Daylight Time)

• Building/Room: HBGCC 005