Abstract: In this talk I will share work from a multi-year project with the goal of integrating musical composition and performance with computer programming. Here I think about music and computing as two mutually reinforcing forms of literacy. Computer code provides a language to think about musical ideas such as rhythm, harmony, and chords. Music, in turn, provides a rich context through which to explore concepts of computer programming. As these literacies collide, they are both transformed in fascinating ways. Since 2019, our team has worked at the intersection of human-computer interaction, education, and the learning sciences to engage thousands of young people from 5th grade to college in schools, summer camps, and after school clubs. Through these experiences, I will reflect on STEAM education in the era of generative AI and offer some unexpected implications of a literacy framing.
Bio: Michael Horn is a Professor of Computer Science and Learning Sciences at Northwestern University where he directs the Tangible Interaction Design and Learning (TIDAL) Lab. Michael’s research explores the use of interactive technology in the design of innovative learning experiences. He takes a cautious but optimistic stance towards technology in a process that tightly couples research and design. His work has been exhibited at museums around the world including the California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco), the Museum of Science (Boston), Science City (Kansas City), the Field Museum (Chicago), and the Computer History Museum (Silicon Valley). Michael’s research on tangible programming has contributed to the commercial products: Osmo Coding and Kibo Robotics. More recently Michael’s team at Northwestern has created TunePad, a platform for communities of learners to create and share music using python coding.
Michael is the director and co-founder of the Joint PhD Program in Computer Science and Learning Sciences. He is also co-editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction and an associate editor for ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI). Michael earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science at Tufts University working in the Human-Computer Interaction Lab and the Developmental Technologies research group. He received his undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Brown University and has worked as a software engineer for several companies including Classroom Connect and iRobot Corporation.