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1978
). Loi and Dillon (
2006
) propose adaptive educational environments that can
be designed as creative spaces to foster interaction through situational and social
dynamics. Technological infrastructure is a key resource in this type of educational
environments. Burnard (
2007
) places creativity and technology as the two central
forces enabling innovative educational practices. She cites the use of online and
collaborative technology, proposing practice, participation, and collaborative net-
working as objectives of music education research. These situated, socially informed
approaches provide a stark contrast to the standard educational views on musical
creativity (see Keller et al.
2011b
for a review). While standard models are con-
cerned with activities that (in theory) can be carried out without the need for social
interaction or place-specifi c experience, such as “problem solving” and abstract
“thinking,” situated approaches bring socially acquired musical experience to the
forefront of the research agenda. Thus, they highlight two aspects that need to be
considered in aesthetically informed approaches to design: the local resources for
creative action and the mutual processes of adaptation that emerge through social
interactions.
The dialogical conception challenges the view of creativity as a purely mental,
individual process (Freire
1999
; Lima et al.
2012
). Through hands-on activity and
social interaction among peers, students are stimulated to evaluate their work. Given
the relevance of the local referents, participants are encouraged to refl ect about their
own processes and products during musical activities. While keeping tabs on the
local reality, they develop a critical view on their products and creative processes.
Through iterative cycles of exchanges, dialogical methods foster individual and col-
lective refl ections. In line with other socially oriented perspectives, the dialogical
view is based on the premise that knowledge is constructed. This knowledge is
considered the basis for refl ective actions. Freire's educational philosophy encour-
ages pupils to assume an active role in the educational process, refl ecting and justi-
fying their creative choices and independently seeking resources within a context of
open proposals. This consensus-building process opens a space for coexistence of
diverse and sometimes opposing views. Thus, Freire's proposal emphasizes
exchanges without confrontations, providing a foundation for the emergence of
communities.
Liikkanen et al. (
2011
) argue for the adoption of practice-based design methods
focused on creativity. Their proposal is situated within the participatory design ini-
tiative, integrating users as co-designers (Ehn
1988
). On a similar vein, Botero et al.
(
2010
) propose the exploration of a continuum from use to creation involving strate-
gies such as repurposing of existing technology for rapid prototyping. A central
aspect of this emerging trend is the focus on creativity and sustainability allied to
the adoption of participatory techniques. Two recent studies carried out by our
group applied this design approach within the context of ubiquitous music practice
(Lima et al.
2012
).
Lima et al. (
2012
) developed and applied a set of design techniques - the ubimus
planning and the ubimus design protocols - to assess relevant aspects of social and
