Special2010

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Websites for general use in the classroom:

 v **__ www.makingmusic.com __**

Making Music is an excellent open-ended program for introducing young people who have had no formal training or exposure to the idea of composing music. It is a fun, visual, hands-on tool for creating and exploring music.

This program is intended for children 5 to 12 years old who have not been given formal training in music. It is designed to allow them to explore making music the same way that young people explore painting or drawing. Because there is no reading involved, independence with the software will be quick for young and old alike. This program would also be interesting to older children who have been exposed to music, since it would allow them an opportunity to demonstrate what they already know.

Making Music is an excellent program because it takes the creative process of musical composition, which is inaccessible to most, and makes it fun and easy. The software accomplishes this by making the simple connection between music and visual art, and it turns the music making process into something you can see with shapes and colors. There is no reading required, and all the tutorials are explained through simple audio tracks. Another strength of this program is that it allows children to see and keep the products of their work. Compositions can be saved, altered, saved again, and replayed with ease. Making Music is fabulous because children are not constrained by any rules. Just as with a blank piece of paper, there are no lines to color within, this composition software allows for virtually any type of creation. The beginner can experiment with different instruments’ sounds, different pitches, rhythms, and note lengths. More advanced users can try to recreate songs they have heard before or compose their own tunes.

 v **__ www.Kidspiration.com __**

Age Range: 9-14 Grades: 4 through 7

Kidspiration is an educational software program that is based on the use of graphic organizers to record, sort, and organize ideas to be further developed into a written piece of work. Graphic organizers allow for ideas to be organized based on relationships and are linked visually. Kidspiration takes the graphic organizer concept further by allowing a learner to transfer the visually linked relationships to a writing outline so that the ideas can be expanded upon textually.

The Kidspiration experience begins with a starter screen that is organized according to ready-made templates based on specific subjects (math, reading and writing, science, social studies), a picture view and a writing view.

Kidspiration was created for young learners within the K-5 grades. The emphasis on supplying a wealth of colourful and vivid visual symbols to represent and connect ideas provides a very novel means for young learners to make sense of their writing and enjoy the writing process. For the full impact of the program to be seen on the writing output and the writing process of young learners, they would need to have been introduced and have had adequate practice in the use of graphic organizers within the writing process. Appropriate modeling of the use of Kidspiration as a means to engage in the writing process is required by a facilitator for young learners between the K-5 grades to take full advantage of the features of the program.

 v **__ www.ispyschooldays.com __**

I Spy School Days is a program that builds language arts skills, reasoning, and problem solving skills through picture challenges and riddles. Players have a choice of attempting to solve any one of a number of traditional I Spy picture riddles, or to attempt one of the new challenges. The traditional riddles are based on various themes (for example: block city, nature, chalkboard), each of which has numerous variations. I Spy School Days is the newest of the I Spy series.

I Spy School Days is designed for children aged 5 - 9. However, as with many of the leading educational software programs, its actual range of appeal and applicability is much broader. Speaking from experience, I Spy School Days may be enjoyed by someone of any age who enjoys a good picture riddle and problem solving challenges. It is particularly useful in developing the connection between picture and print and building on children's sight vocabulary.

It is fun and it is challenging! It builds language arts and problem solving skills. In addition, although it is a relatively simple program to use, and it seems uncomplicated, there is an almost endless amount of variations, so that this game can be enjoyed by the same player for many sessions, without losing its challenging and entertaining aspects. This program does the little things well: the language arts connections are reinforced by creative and fun use of language so that it has auditory appeal. Furthermore, by highlighting portions of the written riddle as they are solved, the connection between print and picture is reinforced, as are word identification skills.

 v **__ www.mathworkshopdeluxe.com __**

Math Workshop Deluxe is a fun house containing 8 math based activity rooms. Upon entering you meet your guide Polly who tells you how the program works. She will also guide and help you once you are in any of the activity areas. This is a self directed program that allows you to choose what you want to do.

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">On the main floor, there are 4 activity areas, 3 of which exercise your skills in visual construction, detecting patterns, and solving geometric puzzles. The fourth area "Window Patterns" allows you to be creative by making colourful geometric designs on your own.

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">As you mount the stairs, you find 4 areas that exercise and test all your math skills. In one area " Rhythm Shop " you will actually learn how to identify fractions, and you will be tested on your skills. (See middle right) In "Bowling for Numbers" (see bottom right) you have a choice of adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, estimating or equivalency activities.

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">In "Bowling for Numbers" a bowling pin pops down for each correct answer. When you get 10 pins, Gus The Gorilla goes bowling, and then you play another set. When you have completed 10 sets, you can move up to the next skill level, or switch to another type of math activity within the area.

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">In "Boiler Room" you are presented with word problems (i.e. questions involving math calculations) challenging your accuracy and speed of response. In "Rhythm Shop" you identify different time codes of a music bar and hear music played to that time signature as a way of understanding fractions. And finally there is " Rockets " an interesting game of deductive logic.