Some websites I have used in class over the past year and a half.

Dsokids.com –This is the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s website. It has wonderful games for students that range in concepts from composers to music symbols. It also has a great list of listening examples that I use often in class organized by composers and instruments. I use this website a lot with my younger students. My K-2 focus a lot on instruments and for them to see and hear the instruments helps recognizing them later. I will usually use my desktop computer and projector when using the website for listening so the whole class can participate at the same time. There are times I will bring out the netbooks for 2nd and will ask them to focus on the games on the website. They are kid friendly and easy for them to understand. My students have a blast playing next to each other and don’t even know their learning.

Nyphilkids.org- This is the website of the New York Philharmonic. A recent discovery that has become an instant hit in my classroom. The virtual tours throughout the building capture students attention. The virtual instruments and music composition games keep my students excited about music. I will sit students down as a class and take the virtual tours of the building then let them loose on the netbooks to take tours at their own pace jumping into the games room after.

Aviary.com- I used this website a lot last year focusing mainly on the audio editor and drum loop creator. The editor was easy to use and my students enjoyed the different tracks in Quantum tracks and the drum loop creator using the dots was so simple to use .I liked the site because it was a great way to get students creating not only in music but also in art as well. I completed a large project with my 5th graders that asked for them to create a drum loop then create a piece in the audio editor using their drum loop. It was a great way to get students acquainted to technology they have never used before. Aviary Education looks very promising as well. I have not used it yet in the classroom but have tested it out with students and love how much I can protect and monitor work as their teacher.

Quavermusic.com- A new site out this year and I have to say, I’m in love. It has everything I could have asked for and more. Logging with your free account you and your students can travel back in time and visit composers in the phone booth. The studio provides opportunities for your students to create their own music whether it is on the Q Loops, the Q Composer or the QStrum. The music room provides students with video clips of Quaver’s DVD series teaching them musical concepts. The arcade also sits in the music room giving students a chance to reinforce concepts they learn through fun activities. Underneath the streets of Quaver also sits the Metro where students can travel to different concert venues and learn about different genres of music while playing games and earning diplomas. I use this website in two different ways. The first is to send my older students on the net books with a mission they need to complete within class time. Most of my students love this website and with the little direction I give them they take their musical learning to the next step all on their own. My younger students use this website to compose as a class. We have created a plethora of melodies and rhythms on the Q composer that have been played on our classroom instruments.

Evernote.com- Not only a strong app but also great online. I use this website to take notes, outline my lessons for each quarter, and I also put my lessons for the day on there and project them on the board for my students so they know what is going to happen during their lesson.

I am still looking for some awesome websites to use in class. If you have any suggestions especially for K-2 I’d love to hear them. I am looking for some that I can project on the board and have whole classes be able to participate at once instead of using the net books all the time.