Education

Benalla College

Increasing & Enhancing Opportunities

Benalla College, in Victoria's north-east, is determined to increase and improve the opportunities for its students. Its many and varied learning programs offer students academic and vocational courses of study; senior students can work towards a Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or a Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL). The college's performing arts leader, Barry Roberts, is proud that music is an option, whatever stream the students choose:

'Music plays a significant role in the character of Benalla College. Senior students can study Music Performance for VCE, or Technical Production for a Vocational Education and Training (VET) package.'

The college recently added Auralia 4 and Musition 4 to its music program. According to Barry Roberts, one of the major benefits is that content is linked to the curriculum used in Victorian schools. Barry uses the pre-loaded syllabuses to cover many aural training and music theory areas, including chords, scales, intervals, pitch and melody, and rhythm.

Improving Student's Results

Situated in north eastern Victoria, Benalla College is a co-educational, secondary college catering for around 550 students from year 7 to year 12. The college has a reputation for academic excellence, with many students receiving tertiary scholarships and Premiers' awards. The college's VCAL program is also recognised in the Hume region and throughout the state.

Benalla College is now using Auralia 4 and Musition 4 to boost its award-winning music program. Barry Roberts introduced the software a year ago to enhance students' technical knowledge and to develop specific aural skills.

Auralia 4 and Musition 4 - with 75 topics covering all aspects of intervals and scales, chords, rhythm, harmony and form, pitch and melody, terms and symbols, and instruments - are a useful tool for teachers like Michael Martin:

'I've noticed that students' results have improved since introducing Auralia and Musition, particularly at the VCE level. Our students are better at intervals, harmonic recognition, rhythm, memory and notation.'

Benefits for Students

Music students at Benalla College range from 13 to 18 years of age. Music is compulsory for year 7 students, and an elective for students in years 8 to 12. Students can also participate in a co-curricular instrumental music program comprising concert bands, a symphonic band and a stage band. Currently, 1 in 7 students participate in the college's instrumental music program, with numbers growing each year.

Teachers like Barry Roberts understand how important it is to keep students engaged. He says that one of the major benefits of Auralia 4 and Musition 4 is that they encourage student interest and engagement:

'Our students really do enjoy using Auralia and Musition because they get immediate feedback. The lessons and are also useful.'

Benefits for Teachers

Ask any teacher and they will tell you how time consuming it is to set tests and report on each students' progress. Teachers can use pre-loaded tests, quizzes and worksheets in Auralia 4 and Musition 4, or develop their own. They can track results for individual students or for a whole class, and then export these results to prepare student reports.

'One of the major benefits of using Auralia and Musition is tracking and reporting student progress. I use the tests and worksheets that are included, and it helps with preparing reports.'

Auralia 4 and Musition 4 can be customised to suit all abilities, so students can work at their own pace through the interactive lessons and audio examples. This gives teachers the flexibility to move through the classroom, helping students with issues as they arise.