Duo Musical Playground

Ryan is an educator who has worked with infants through college students in music classrooms in Florida, Arizona, and Texas. As a weaver, knitter, and musician, she is very interested in making. As an educator, interdisciplinary projects interest Ryan because they require learners to consider many aspects of their general knowledge and understandings and to apply these to real-world projects. Her interests have inspired her to design hand-woven musical instruments, stuffed animals/monsters with embedded lights and sounds, and knitted flower hair pins with LEDs. Ryan enjoys facilitating workshops with children and has presented to adults at conferences across the United States and abroad. As a doctoral student in music education at Arizona State University, she researches and writes about creativity, music technology, and music making.

Jon is a musician, maker, and teacher from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. His scholarly interests are focused on the intersection of music, technology, learning, and culture. Jon has presented on these topics at both national and international music education conferences, seeking to bring new stories of making, learning, and teaching music to students and teachers both in and outside of music classrooms. Jon is currently attending James Madison University, pursuing a master’s degree in music education.