ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the Biophilia Educational Project, a multimodal technology-based learning program conceived by Icelandic avant-garde/alternative rock musician Björk, that aims to teach children about music, nature and science through creative interaction with technology. We document the evolution of this unique project, from initial idea through the pioneering Björk: Biophilia iPad “app album”, and its affiliated educational program that has achieved government support and distribution in all Nordic countries. This chapter reports on findings from the first research to provide a detailed, independent account of the Biophilia Educational Project in English, a Master thesis made possible via mobility grants from the Nordic Network for Music Education. The methodology is based on a constructivist grounded theory paradigm which seeks to inductively generate knowledge through concurrent data collection and analysis. The main body of data consists of interviews with teachers and steering group members of the Biophilia Educational Project, observation of a clinical trial with the Biophilia “app”, as well as a critical review of documents and digital artifacts to generate a robust contemporary history of the project. The results show that Biophilia may be understood as an elaborate project that extends far beyond use of the “app album”, and while the artistic and technologically innovative features of the Biophilia Project are widely praised, diverse perspectives are encountered regarding its perceived usefulness in school music education.
