Educators' Training Programs for Integrating ICT in the Field of Music

This article presents musicians' training activities in the field of integrating ICT carried on in the Gheorghe Dima Music Academy of Cluj-Napoca with the purpose of connecting the realm of art to the pedagogical requirements of pre-university and university areas. Organized with financial support from national and international research programs, the initial goal of these programs was to create human resources specialized in ICT who would have the knowledge to create teaching materials as well as field-specific applications. Under the coordination of a preliminary observer, the training status of music educators in using ICT was revealed, and the conclusion was that the arts' sector requires fast training of professionals with recognized skills. Integrating ICT specific to distance education was imperiously necessary because programs of study were authorized to function within the institution that required: creating a technological infrastructure and the human resources necessary for programs, conducting research activities aimed at training the human resource in ICT-integration, developing cultural and research relations with institutions of education and culture within the country and abroad. The efforts to set up the adequate material have been validated by the results obtained in the institution: in the field of teacher training activities the accreditation of two study programs in distance education, the establishment of courses of adult education through distance learning which are accredited by CNFPA, five post-university programs, and last but not least, creating an e-learning platform for the academy, the related platform - the D.I.M.A. multimedia application, with contributions in establishing the European platforms VEMUS and PRELUDE.