Benefits of using Watsonx in Make Music Count
Marcus Blackwell spent the last ten years developing an interactive, unique curriculum that fuses the strength of maths with the fun of music. Students from elementary school through high school participate in our Make Music Count programme, where they practise solving arithmetic problems while learning how to play the piano. Since the program’s debut, I’ve witnessed the need, desire, and impact: Make Music Count is currently in over 400 schools, has 60,000 registered users, and has received more than 20,000 downloads on iOS and Android devices.
And now, I’m happy to announce a new achievement: through our collaboration with IBM, we will employ their state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to personalise students’ educational experiences and give them access to learning’s practical applications.
Developing the essential resources for student success
The idea behind Make Music Count was inspired by the knowledge and realisation that maths is an essential tool for all kids’ academic success. A one-size-fits-all approach to math instruction is all too common, and it can lead to kids believing that “math is boring.” By putting play at the centre of the student’s learning process, our transdisciplinary approach increases maths engagement.
Make Music Count was created primarily to aid children in grades 2 through 12 in solving mathematical problems. When a pupil correctly solves a maths problem, a musical note is revealed in the solution. Students can play their solutions on a virtual keyboard while the original music streams in parallel once all questions in a specific set of issues have been solved. The corresponding notes are highlighted on a virtual piano once this has happened. As a result, while playing and learning the piano, we’ve seen students’ confidence and maths ability improve.
And now, IBM has assisted us in elevating our platform by integrating IBM Watson Discovery and Watson Watsonx Assistant into Make Music Count’s web application. over this integration, we are able to employ AI to tailor lesson plans to meet the specific needs of each student, allowing them to ask questions and receiving real-time maths guidance over chat.
Collaboration that is seamless within and outside of the classroom
IBM realised early on that maths instruction needed to take the experiences and cultures of the students into account. Because they didn’t see themselves reflected in the curriculum, we observed that kids were falling behind in their maths studies. Conversation was the foundation of Make Music Count as we started out. We discovered that giving pupils the chance to converse made them more capable of taking charge of their own education. Our app sees 100% engagement during each student session since students are self-motivated to finish each session in order to fully experience the song. On average, we see an increase of 28% in a student’s score from pre- to post-test.
IBM team created a virtual assistant to facilitate talks among several students in order to help deliver on this. Because kids may now complete our extra STEAM and SEL curriculum independently and at their own pace, teachers in our partner school systems have more time for productive tasks.
Teachers and tutors may now spend more time in-person personalising lessons for students, and the chat feature can assist students get started and ask more fundamental questions. Over time, the AI will pick up on question trends, and we are eager to see what insights it might gather to help us in the future as we plan our curriculum.
Adjusting an AI approach to our company’s needs
He was initially hesitant about what an AI investment would entail because implementing an AI strategy and its business applications can appear overwhelming. However, IBM put my concerns to rest, made the process smooth, and helped me understand how watsonx can benefit companies like ours. An often-overlooked benefit of technology in the classroom that AI can provide is now clear to me.
In order to continue optimising our platform and resources, our IT team needed assistance with data management and interpreting user insights. It was not a big lift for the IBM team to assist us understand and execute the IBM Watson Discovery platform. The AI tool will learn as we use it with our kids, assisting our team as we go from being merely a bonus to a core curriculum maths learning platform. This milestone is a location where we can start and grow.
Making music relevant to everyone (and the future)
IBM Atlanta-based staff has always placed a strong emphasis on accessibility. Every student should, in our opinion, feel involved during instruction and invited given the chance to succeed in the classroom. Our platform is still used as an additional resource for maths lessons, music classes, intervention rooms and after-school programmes that provide enrichment. IBM are eager to expand Make Music Count with school districts all throughout the United States and even the world.
IBM also see wonderful chances to expand Make Music Count inside children’s hospitals, providing kids in need with both education and entertainment. IBM is already present in several hospital systems and can work with us to uncover new prospects for partnership. Play your favourite songs on the (mathematical) piano with Make Music Count on your laptop, phone, or tablet to combine math and music in an entertaining way.
