UMSIC
The aim of the three-year Framework 7 funded research project UMSIC was to design, develop and evaluate a mobile music technology product that would reduce the sense of marginalization of children who are immigrant, growing up in multicultural contexts or who have moderate learning difficulties. The project involved a multi-disciplinary team drawing from four countries (UK, Finland, Switzerland and Greece).
During the project lifetime more than 1400 children aged between three and eleven years from England, Finland and Germany participated in the design and use of JamMo.
The findings support other recent studies that musical activities in groups can facilitate feelings of social inclusion in children. Teachers reported that the software appears to be broadly appropriate for recently immigrant children and children with ADHD. Children in England and Finland demonstrated high levels of motivation to use JamMo and its potential musical opportunities. In particular, the basic premise of constructing music using pre-existing musical loops was clearly attractive to children and the research suggested that they enjoyed the musical materilas of JamMo.
Project results were presented at the UMSIC workshop and Summer School 14-15 June in Oulu.
The product JamMo (jamming mobile) version 1.0 for 3-6 and 7-12 aged children was released June 2011, but the work on developing it will continue as an Open Source Project (www.umsic.org/jammo) starting September 2011.
