{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "content": "---\ntitle: \"LENS Online - the Laptop Ensemble in a time of covid19\"\ndescription: \"Taking the ANU Laptop Ensemble online during COVID-19---what changes, what\n  stays the same, and why it might actually work.\"\ntags:\n  - lens\n  - teaching\n---\n\nWell, as with all ANU courses, we're taking the\n[Laptop Ensemble](https://comp.anu.edu.au/courses/laptop-ensemble/)\n([COMP2710/MUSI2205](https://comp.anu.edu.au/courses/laptop-ensemble/resources/faq/#whats-the-deal-with-the-dual-course-codes-comp2710-and-musi2205))\ncourse online.\n\nIn some ways this will be easy (after all, it has _Laptop_ in the course title),\nwhile in other ways this will be quite challenging (after all, it has _Ensemble_\nin the course title). The biggest thing is that the Ensemble is a relatively\nsmall (by CS course size standards) and engaged bunch of students, and so we can\npush some of the \"what will this course look like if we can't meet physically\nfor the entire rest of the semester\" question on to them[^lazy-pedagogy].\n\nIf you're not familiar with the Laptop Ensemble course, we use a flipped\nlecture + weekly in-person crit/jam session model. Each week the students watch\nsome videos, listen to some music, read some things, look at some example code,\nand make a 60 second video (with sound, obviously) exploring the week's\n\"creative provocation\". Then we get together, watch & discuss everyone's video\nsubmissions (the crit part) and then get together in small ensembles (three\nmusicians, different groups each week) to jam & finish the workshop with a\n3-minute-long ensemble performances from each group. It's super fun, we make\nnoise every week, and the results so far (it's the end of week 4) have been\nreally great.\n\nNow that\n[we're going online](https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/covid-19-staff-update-–-18-march-2020),\nthe flipped part won't change, but we won't get our weekly workshop session. So,\nhere's the current plan:\n\n- students will still submit weekly videos, but alternating between individual\n  submissions and group submissions\n\n- we'll get together (synchronously) over zoom and watch the videos & have the\n  crit\n\n- next week's provocation: which models of collaboration work (and which don't)\n  in a computer music ensemble?\n\n- the final performance (the capstone of the course, usually held in a cool\n  nightclub) will _probably_ be an online streaming gig\n\nStay tuned---still lots to figure out, but I'm kindof excited. LENS will survive\nwhile the world collapses around us (seriously, though, be nice to each other,\ndon't hoard stuff and try and #flattenthecurve).\n\n[^lazy-pedagogy]:\n    the best educators, like the [best programmers](https://threevirtues.com),\n    are [lazy](https://blog.optimus-education.com/why-lazy-teachers-are-best)\n",
  "createdAt": "2026-05-13T23:14:54.484Z",
  "description": "Taking the ANU Laptop Ensemble online during COVID-19---what changes, what stays the same, and why it might actually work.",
  "path": "/blog/2020/03/21/lens-online-the-laptop-ensemble-in-a-time-of-covid19",
  "publishedAt": "2020-03-21T00:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "at://did:plc:tevykrhi4kibtsipzci76d76/site.standard.publication/self",
  "tags": [
    "lens",
    "teaching"
  ],
  "textContent": "Taking the ANU Laptop Ensemble online during COVID-19---what changes, what stays the same, and why it might actually work.",
  "title": "LENS Online - the Laptop Ensemble in a time of covid19"
}