Social media musicianship: Practices and implications for music education

In this talk prepared for the general public, Alex Ruthmann will address three main themes:  social media musicianship, harnessing DIY/Maker cultures and tangible media, and embracing 20th and 21st century musical roles such as audio engineer and producer.  Ruthmann will share exemplars of inspiring practices and put forward a framework for a "relational pedagogy" where students, teachers, creativity, expression, and engagement are at the center, mediated by technology.
The talk will be given on Thursday, October 11, 2012, 6:00 pm, in 231 Varner Hall.

Alex Ruthman studied performing arts technology at the University of Michigan before completing MM and PhD degrees at Oakland University in music education.  He is an assistant professor of Music Education at the University of Massachusetts - Lowell where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses at the intersection of music education, arts computing and research.  He currently serves as President of the Association for Technology in Music Instruction, is Chair of the Creativity special research interest group of the Society for Research in Music Education, and is Co-Editor of the International Journal of Education & the Arts.
His current research explores social/digital media musicianship and creativity, the development of technologies for music learning, and teaching and engagement for use in schools and community-based interdisciplinary arts+computing programs.