SoundJunction is a new, free-to-use web-based tool for 'exploring, discovering and creating music' that has been produced by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) in association with Atticmedia Ltd and designed for use primarily by young people. The ten-month, multi-methods research project will evaluate how the new SoundJunction website might be used most effectively from an educational perspective and examine what genuine educational benefits and innovations that it brings. Five principal sources of evidence (action research, participant observation and interview, journal-based evaluation, software analyses and literature review) are incorporated in the design and include the perspectives of participant beginning teachers, experienced teachers and pupils with and without a strong interest in music technology.
The research team (Welch, Himonides, Purves & Laurence - led by Himonides) have two prime foci for the evaluation: (i) the four groups of participants overall engagement with the site as a whole, both as learners and also (where appropriate) as teachers, examining particular strengths and challenges in the design and content and (ii) a specific focus on the 'Listening and discovering for yourself' application – the latter being specifically designed to allow the user to engage with specific aspects of 'how music works'.
project team...
- Evangelos Himonides, IoE
- Professor Graham Welch, IoE
- Ross Purves, IoE
- Kate Laurence, IoE
project output
Himonides, E., Laurence, K., & Welch, G. (2008). SoundJunction: A research-based evaluation. Department of Arts and Humanities, Institute of Education, University of London. ISBN: 978-1-905351-08-4
