Software For The Arts - Brief Article

The computer is a great tool for bringing art and music into your classroom

Whether your goal is to awaken interest in the uninitiated or to encourage children who have shown that special spark of real talent, finding the time and the means to integrate music and art into your classroom routine can be a challenge. Fortunately, this is one area where technology--in the form of that Mac or Windows computer sitting in the corner--can easily, effectively help. Here's a rundown of some music and art enrichment CDs.

PRIMARY GRADES Meet the Mind of a Great Artist

The name of Polish artist Kveta Pacovska may not roll easily off your tongue, but the award-winning CD-ROM Alphabet makes it easy to introduce students to her art. This is actually the second CD based on Pocovska's work, but the idea is the same: to give a child the paintbrush and let him or her climb inside and finish the pictures. This title is easier to use and includes hundreds of paintings.

From the very beginning, children are in control, freely exploring a rich variety of artistic elements, watching them shift and transform with a click of the mouse. This is an excellent enrichment CD for any age.

***** (4.5)

Alphabet, Tivola Electronic Publishing; Win/Mac, $20; www.tivola.com Grades K-12

Music on the Magic School Bus

"Why can't you go for a ride on the bus?" is the first question kids ask when they play The Magic School Bus in Concert Activity Center. It's a good question. Instead of working toward an overall goal, children explore two screens filled with items that lead to games or short lessons on sounds and music. One of the best activities is "Central Stage," where kids hear and learn about instruments m the orchestra, as well as view their sound waves. The innovative "Acousrimatic" lets children place sounds into different environments (like underwater). But one game, "The Power of Sound," is merely a fun shoot-'em-up game with no relation to music. Guess where testers spent most of their time? One great feature: a closed-caption option that makes the program usable by hearing-impaired children. This program succeeds in its goal of giving children a playful environment to learn about sounds.

****# (4.1)

The Magic School Bus in Concert Activity Center, Win/MAC, $19.95; www.scholastic.com Grades: 1-4

UPPER ELEMENTARY: Bring the World's Greatest Museums Into Your Classroom

From paintings on cave walls to modern classics hanging in famous galleries, The World's Greatest Museums showcases 150 works of art throughout history. An index organizes content by date, theme, country, artist, and artwork, making it easy to search. In addition to paintings, there are sculptures and archaeological artifacts. The CD nicely presents an overview of art history and would be useful in home or school settings.

***** (4.3)

The World's Greatest Museums, Grolier Interactive; Win/Mac, $39.95; www.grolier.com Grades 4-12

MIDDLE SCHOOL: Math & Music

This curriculum-on-a-disk contains 19 tutorials on a broad range of topics integrating math and music. Each tutorial takes the form of a narrated slide show, with mini-lectures illustrating key concepts, a series of application questions, and a final quiz.

After signing in, students see a main menu in the form of a virtual music room, where they choose from six topics, each with several tutorials. "Journeys in Music," for example, explores music around the world, while the "Mathematics of Music" introduces users to the ratios, scales, and rules of harmony underlying all music. Other topics include how we hear, ancient numbers, and a handy speed-math drill (which has nothing at all to do with music, but is nicely designed). In all, there's plenty of good content for the price, and the program design makes it easy to zero in on a specific subject for reinforcement or practice. Also nice is the record-keeping feature, which tracks progress for each student.

***** (4.3)

Wildridge Software, Inc., Win (Note: Mac and network versions are in the works.) $89.95 single version, www.wildridge.com Grades 6-12.

Warren Buck1eitner, a former teacher, is the editor of Children's Software Revue (www.childrens-software.com).

Rating Key: --

***** = 4.8-5.0 Outstanding

***** = 4.3-4.7 Very Good

****# = 3.8-4.2 Good

***## =3.3-3.7 Poor

***## = 0-3.2 Dud

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