The forty-three contributors to ‘The Oxford Handbook of Technology and Music Education’, edited by Alex Ruthmann and Roger Mantie, represent a diverse group of distinguished and emerging international music educators.… Click to show full abstract
The forty-three contributors to ‘The Oxford Handbook of Technology and Music Education’, edited by Alex Ruthmann and Roger Mantie, represent a diverse group of distinguished and emerging international music educators. Savage (p.149) aptly expresses the thematic direction of this collection in reference to the moment in Alice in Wonderland where Alice asks ‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’ (Carroll, 1920, p.90). Each chapter promotes a contrasting perspective, not by telling music educators which way to go, but in asking ‘does anyone know which way we are going? Does anyone know where we want to go? Does it matter where we end up?’ (p.149). The transformative, and often disruptive, impact of technology in our rapidly changing and uncertain educational landscape is discussed across the interlinking chapters. In doing so, music educators are challenged not to shrink from embracing these changes, but to allow their conceptions of musicality to grow. The sixty-three chapters are arranged into four parts: ‘Emergence and evolution’, ‘Location and contexts: social and cultural issues’, ‘Experiencing, expressing, learning and teaching’ and ‘Competence, credentialing, and professional development’. The discourse and critical examination offers neither an endorsement or denunciation for a particular set of musical, technological or pedagogical practices. It does, however, recognise how new modes of social and cultural engagement have merged the boundaries between different disciplines and transformed our interactions with musical teaching and learning. The initial themes cover the ubiquity of screens, the different meanings of technology, technological determinism and the notion of technology as a tool. Roger Mantie discusses how the definition of being ‘a musical person’ may no longer be defined by the ability to actually make music (p.21). He argues that commodification, and the blurring of boundaries between professional and amateur musicians, has empowered the consumer as a producer (or ‘prosumer’), impacting what is meant by being musically educated. The historic relationship with music and technology is identified by David Williams, who suggests ‘we are a profession of old, perhaps even ancient technology’ that has been ‘hurt by resisting change’ (p.82). However, Marina Gall (p.37) justly recognises that the focus of many music teachers is on preserving the place of music in schools (Aróstegui, 2016), and the discussion of technology and education may appear less urgent in the current situation (Daubney and Mackrill, 2018). Classroom innovations, she argues, are less likely when teachers are ‘hounded by league table and exam results’ (p.42). Global perspectives of technology and music education are considered, exploring disadvantaged populations, remote locations and the digital divide. Kylie Peppler (p.191) and Joseph Pignato (p.203) consider the impact of learning in the hybrid spaces between home and school, and the problematic gap between the ‘promise’ of technology and the realisation of that promise in formal music education. A pressing concern, identified by Heidi Partti (p.257), is in ensuring that teachers have the breadth of knowledge and skills required in our rapidly changing world. Ethan Hein (p.237) questions if we should embrace our
               
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