Nicholas Reynolds

The Computer as Scaffold, Tool and Data Collector: Children Composing with Computers

This paper looks at children’s approaches to music composition using advanced music software. The data indicate that the software allowed children different ways of looking at their compositions: visually, musically and aurally. The paper explores the notion of the computer as a scaffold with reference to the Swanwick and Tillman (1986) stages of musical development, seeking to investigate different ways of demonstrating children’s musical development. The paper also discusses the way the software can be used as an analysis and data collection tool.

Computer science in K-12 school curricula of the 2lst century: Why, what and when?

In this paper we have examined the position and roles of Computer Science in curricula in the light of recent calls for curriculum change and we have proposed principles and issues to consider in curriculum design as well as identifying priority areas for further research. The paper is based on discussions within and beyond the International Federation of Information Processing (IFIP) Education Community since 2012 as well as an analysis of curriculum developments in five different countries. Emerging themes have been discussed with reference to important perspectives from curriculum theory including “powerful knowledge” as a key element of entitlement and management of the growth of expertise. Based on this analysis we have identified areas of consensus as well as constraints, risks and issues that are still subject to controversy. There is an emerging consensus of the importance of Computer Science and the nature of its “powerful knowledge”. Furthermore current understanding of the opportunities and benefits for starting to learn Computer Science early in primary schools has identified this early start as an entitlement and equity issue. There is a strong consensus that teacher professional development in Computer Science Education is critical for supporting curriculum change and is currently a major challenge in many countries. Other key issues include understanding how the growth of expertise affects potential structure and sequencing in the curriculum and the balance of content. Further considerations include how new technological opportunities interact with pedagogical approaches and can provide new potential for the growth of expertise.

Hermeneutics and an understanding of children's electronic musical compositions

A yearlong project into the electronic compositions and compositional approaches of children led the author to investigate theoretical frameworks to support an analysis process that accommodated the capacity to re-live and reinterpret data through the same technologies that were used to create it. An exploration of the hermeneutical approach to text as presented by Ricoeur provided the opportunity for the author to apply such approaches to the re-experiencing of the data in a way made unique by the use of ICTs. This article presents data from that project and describes how and why the methodologies (and the technology) enabled the researcher to develop new ideas about the ways in which children think musically.

Technology and Computers in Music and Music Education

The use of computers in music education is investigated from a historical perspective that draws parallels to the use of computers in education generally. Drawing upon a study into the musical compositions of primary school children working in electronic environments this paper presents approaches to the use of ICT in music education that appear at odds with approaches in other education areas. The paper provides reasons for this and offers ways in which ICT can be used differently in music education research.

Computer Science in the school curriculum: issues and challenges

This paper is based on analysis and discussion undertaken over several years by researchers, policymakers and practitioners from a range of countries which vary in their approaches to the curriculum for Computer Science. The discussions, undertaken predominantly within the International Federation of Information Processing (IFIP) and EDUsummIT communities were motivated by a need to examine the rationale, issues and challenges following some concerns across the globe about the position and nature of Computer Science in the school curriculum. We summarise our findings and focus specifically on challenges for the computer science education community in communicating, clarifying needs and promoting curriculum change in order to encourage Computer Science in the curriculum both theoretically and practically.

Reevaluating the Concrete–Explanatory Animation Creation as a Digital Catalyst for Cross-Modal Cognition

ABSTRACT This article explores the relationship between abstract and concrete as categories of knowledge and Wilensky’s (1991) theory that all ideas are abstract until they become concrete. Dewey (1910/1997) made a similar claim by suggesting that ideas are initially beyond our comprehension until they have become consolidated. This article documents the evolving mental models of 11- and 12-year-old children as they designed and made explanatory animations for the sake of their own learning. The conclusion from this research is that transferring ideas from thought to word, word to image, or transmediation of any kind, is a semiotic tool for cross-modal cognition.