Web+2.0+Tools+List

**Welcome to a list of summaries and overviews of Web 2.o Tools. These wonderful tools can be incorporated into all classrooms. The following summaries come from student projects on this Wiki; this is indicated by a link to the page the information comes from. These student project pages contain examples of how to incorporate literacy into the arts as well as examples of how to incorporate technology into arts lessons.**
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 * [|LyricsFly]

A great lyrics based search engine. The engine is fairly open, and you can put anything in the search bar, and then search under whatever terms you want (Lyrics, Artist, Title, Album). This would be great in a lesson that compared modern day music to composers of the past. Students could take the idea of fluency and compare if artists of today set the text in similar ways to composers from other centuries. Alternatively, students could take lyrics from one another's favorite songs, and then write different music to the lyrics.


 * [|Classic Cat]

An index of about 6000 free classical music performances. You can choose texts from these pieces to begin with (reciting) in class, then listen to the classical setting on the text from this website.

from Developing Fluency Through the Medium of Vocal Music


 * [|Creately]

Creately is an organizing tool students can use to gather and group information in a convenient and clear way. This method is very visual and can help students see the relationships between different elements.


 * [|Dipity]

Dipity is software that allows students to create an interactive timeline. They can put in pictures, dates—whatever they desire to make the timeline informative.

from From Instruments to Musical Genres


 * [|MyFolio]

MyFolio is a super awesome tool where artists can upload their artwork and share with others! Anyone can browse these images and draw inspiration and come up with ideas. This tool could come in handy in our lesson, by having each student post their artwork online, and then find other artworks that is similar to theirs. It can also help students find new styles of art that they might be interested in. The one thing that we don’t like about this tool is that each image is not protected, for anyone can right click and save the image as their own. Otherwise this is a great tool that could be used by any age group.


 * [|WebCanvas]

WebCanvas is a tool where anyone can edit and add to an online painting. You can do whatever you want with the painting. The real cool thing about this tool is that people all around the world can edit the one image. It is a really cool feeling seeing what people throughout the world have added. This would be great for a lesson. Each student could go onto the Webcanvas and find a piece of it that suits them. They can then discuss what parts they like best with the class, and then add either their own artwork to it, or something else they pull off the internet. Another feature of this tool is the coordinates they give you in order to locate a certain place on the canvas. The one downfall to this website is the fact that people can add inappropriate images and phrases to the canvas. Another flaw is that because it so big, it can be a little bit slow. But besides those two things it is a great, creative program.

from Inspired by Art


 * [|Glogster]

I found this web tool to be great for MANY uses! It is a web based tool where anyone can make "posters" using pictures, text, sound clips and videos. You can create a collage of ideas and make it coherent or expressive in an abstract way. Teachers are able to create an account and add their students so that everyone can view their projects. You can make your glog private or public. You can even print your glog when you are finished! Glogster is free but you can pay for more features! You can create pictures that are hyperlinked to send you to other pages as if you are opening a new section in a book! You can play with color scheme and alter the shapes, sizes and rotations of everything. This site is great for projects of any kind including but not subject to science, history, english, music, art ect. You could collaborate with other teachers by implementing a research project where the subject matter would have to be present PLUS an incorporation of music and visual art.


 * [|Mugtug]

Mugtug is a useful tool to use in a classroom, especially in a district containing a usable computer lab. Mugtug is an online sketchpad easily accessible to any student or teacher with access to the internet. An excellent use of Mugtug for teachers would be to have their students explore ways to create art in relation to their core subjects in school (such as literacy) and use them in presentations or discussions. This is an electronic tool that makes learning fun for the student.

from Across the Arts: Music-Poetry-History Links


 * [|JamStudio]

This program would make a great addition to the lesson because of the hands on activity the lesson offers. Where the students would take the ideas from the analysis in their pairs and compose a simple song using some of those ideas with any modern day instrument Jamstudio.com has to offer. Students can create their own lyrics and melodic lines by using a modern guitar, drums, bass, and piano with preset rhythms. What makes this site even better is as soon as you enter it, the tutorial activates for you so anything that would have to be learned is already there! The only down side to this is to activate more instruments and effects you must pay the subscription. So the lesson would have to strictly provide on the material and instruments that are given to us. Jamstudio provides the change of tempo, meter, chords, and instrumentation, and once you have the order that you want the file can be saved and you can work with it more yourself. This can effectively be seen through the examples Jamstudio provides as people from all over the world use Jamstudio to make their own songs. And from this we can grasp an activity for learning.
 * [|Solvr]

When I stumbled on this useful site, I became very excited. It's a simple interface that lets you identify problems, pose solutions, and write comments to yourself. While this tool does not actually solve your problems for you, this would be a fantastic tool in any scenario to visually arrange your thoughts in an antecedent and consequent form, allowing for reflection and a better quality of process. "Problems" should not be taken with negative connotations in this situation, but rather as the goal of the process. This is not complete in any sense, but it gives you an example of how you can record your ideas and consolidate your process into something you can revise, actively think upon, and reflect on at a later time. I would recommend the use of this tool for any lesson or project. It can be even used as a tool to sort out the choices you need to make in day-to-day life!

from Back to the Highland Games! Scottish and Celtic Folk Music Tradition


 * [|Bomomo]

Bomomo is a site where you can use the "draw what you feel" type project. I would first show a video or show an example that I've created to the class, so that way they can get an understanding of how it works and what to do. This is also a way for students to share their work with the rest of the class.


 * [|Noteflight]

Noteflight is an interesting new development in collaborative online music composition. In essence, it is a version of Finale or Sibelius which is available for free online. Though the functionality in the free account version is rather basic, it works well for simple music compositions (and also allows for students and their teachers to work collaboratively to reach a polished, final musical work. Also, there are several layers of score sharing with this resource. While you can allow your compositions to be open for viewing and editing by anyone registered for the site, for obvious reasons this is not desirable for an educational setting. You can also set security settings in such a way that only people with a link to your composition can edit it. Even if you're not a music ed major, its worth checking out!

from Music Vocabulary: An Instrumental Approach


 * [|ToonDoo]

This is an exciting and interactive web tool for students. With Toondoo, students can create their own comic strips, books, characters, and draw and manipulate pictures. Again, this would be a perfect opportunity to collaborate with the Art teacher, on how to create a comic strip, and what kinds of artistic qualities students should include. You could also work with the ELA teacher to cover dialogue with students, and what kinds of things we look for when we write dialogue (advancing the plot, exclamations etc...) If your school had a technology teacher, this would be a perfect opportunity for them to work with students with the tool and help them navigate and use the software. The only drawback with this tool is that it requires an account. It's free, however, this would be something you would need to obtain parental permission for with students.


 * [|Student Publishing]

This tool offers a variety of programs. Using StudentPublishing, you can apply to participate in creating a collaborative classbook, with your classroom. Your students if eighth grade or younger can also participate in creating and publishing their own books, which they will receive a free paperback copy of as well. In using this tool, students narrate and illustrate their own books. Wonderful resource for bringing students’ creations to life.

from Musical MadLibs: Talking Music


 * [|Grooveshark]

Grooveshark is an online music website. To use, one simply has to search for song title, album, or artist. The library includes many genres, from pop, to jazz, to a large array of classical and other styles.

In a lesson, a teacher could already have musical examples in mind, and could use Grooveshark to save on space if traveling. Or, a teacher can use Grooveshark as a pinch hitter if he or she forgets some materials. Teachers can use music from Grooveshark to provide students a soundscape to draw. Alternately, students can help to lead an activity by improvising lessons. A teacher could ask students to pick a song, then the class would each create a visual or written response to a favorite song of each student in the class.

from Telling Stories with Music


 * [|OurStory]

This site allows people to make timelines and share them with selected people. You could have students create their own practicing timelines with photos and captions and share them at the end of the year/semester, or you could have them reflect on the timeline at the end. This can be useful for marking students progress and helpful for students in remembering what they did during the time, like a portfolio is a reflection of everything you learned/have collected.


 * [|Dropbox]

We have used dropbox before and it is a very handy tool. It’s free to download (or you can use the site and access from other computers) and people can share files with all who are invited to a specific folder. Students could submit practice logs and/or weekly reflections into their own folders by saving them right to the dropbox folder. You (The creator) can create assignments and specific folders for each student or for specific items (a folder for reflections, a folder for practice logs, etc.) It also can be downloaded onto your iPad (if you have one). A great tool!

from Practicing & Persistence: Developing Expertise


 * [|StoryBird]

With this free online application, anyone can create stories to go along with beautiful illustrations that are provided. We want the students to understand that both music //and// art can have stories attached to them. Just as Prokofiev's //Peter and the Wolf// featured a storyline that went along with the music, many art pieces have stories that accompany them as well. Students can relate to the concept of "programmatic music" using this tool, because they can understand the meaning of "programmatic" by planning their own story using the pictures and writing.


 * [|Purple Planet]

With this free online application, teachers and students can access different kinds of music that represent different moods and emotions. Teachers can employ the free music links to explore different musical moods. This can be used in an activity where the teacher plays a selection from one mood such as, "sadness," and then follows that up with a selection from the mood, "comic." After listening to both of these moods, the class can have a discussion on how the two sounded different. The class should not be able to see what mood is being played so that they will not have any preconceived notions about what they are hearing.

from Musical Tools of the Trade: Leitmotifs and Beyond


 * [|Classic Cat]

This site is great for a school that may not have an extensive classical library. You can search and download multiple, classical music performances so that students can access them at home. It is an extensive site covering major composers as well as a smattering of lesser-known people. You can search the site by composer, but you can also search by instrument which allows teachers to discuss orchestration and have the students find out for themselves what each instrument sounds like. It also served as a way for studentsto begin exploring on their own without the irking of a teacher.


 * [|Kids’ Vid]

This tool gives instructions and tips on how to make a video for a class production. This would be great for my unit. The students can use this tool to make a script, as well as film and present their script as a DVD for the class. This tool also has videos made from around the world, giving the students other ideas on what to do.


 * [|Big Huge Thesaurus]

A wonderful tool for writing. It gives the students many words similar to the word that they are using. It allows for the student's vocabulary and understanding of a word's meaning to be enhanced. This tool gives them so many different kinds of words that either hence the meaning of their sentence or saying it in a different way. In this lesson the tool would be used to find different ways to describe how a character is moving and speaking.


 * [|Idée]

The first Web 2.0 Tool I would use is idée, it's a really interesting tool which helps the user find images by color saturation. I really enjoyed using it, it's very user friendly, however there is a possibility that the single image you select will no longer be available, but that's not so much a problem because there are so many images to choose from. I would use this tool in my lessons as a jumping off point for the "final project" which is to take a piece of artwork (original or well-known) and create a scat melody that can communicate the image. This would be a great tool for exploration of color, which colors glean which sounds, which colors remind you of certain instruments, which syllables could you use to determine the message that the image is conveying?


 * [|Fotobabble]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Fotobabble is a very interesting website which allows the user to upload a photo, and then narrate the photo. So, in theory this would be the perfect way for students to submit their final project. They could simply upload the artwork, record their scat, and email me the link. This tool is completely user friendly and offers many options for sharing the fotobabble, even the option to re-record if need be. The tool does require a sign up, but it expects very little personal information and you are able to sign up with Facebook, which is an easy way to get started.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Museum Box]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The first tool I would like to use for students would be Museum Box. It is a tool where students can describe an event, create time lines, and place images and information together in an organized fashion. It seems like a very simple program to use and allows for students to organize their thoughts in a way that can be easily accessed and then shared with their peers. I would use this because it is a great way for students to collaborate and share their ideas.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Class Tools]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">ClassTools.net is a website where students can create interactive time lines. Students can add pictures, and links to videos and mp3's to enhance their timeline. This tool could be used to create time lines related to the Underground railroad in connection with other historic events happening at the same time, or the way that spirituals fit into American music history.

> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This is a cloud-based information management web tool that allows you to bookmark, highlight, and add sticky notes to websites. Very useful so you can keep resources organized and keep notes on a cloud-based source so you don't always need your laptop. A great tool to use for educators and students to use and share together. You can make shared accounts where students can collaborate and see each others work.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Diigo]


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Timetoast]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This is an online tool that allows you to create timelines and share them. It shows a small caption and picture when you put your mouse over it on the page. You can click on each one and it zooms to a larger page with it expanded and more information. It would be a very useful tool for history lessons and putting how music changed throughout time into perspective. It could definitely be a good visual aid to go along with lessons.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Incredibox]

<span style="color: #116f00; font-family: Georgia,serif;">I <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">ncredibox is an application that allows you to create your own music using human beatbox sounds. Its as easy as dragging and dropping a sound icon on a character! You are even able to record your own beatbox composition and share it with friends! This would be a great tool to use because its incredibly simple to use, and would be effective in an inclusive music classroom. When using this application, students have the ability to compose and it carries out the theme of having different parts come together to make one product- which is a good point to teach if you are working with an ensemble.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Tagxedo]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">I had a blast fiddling around with Tagxedo. I took the "Two Roads Diverged" and created a stimulating image. On the website, the individual words pop up larger as you scroll your mouse over them. Taxego was entertaining and easy to navigate. for my creation below I changed the cloud shape to a treble clef to incorporate music but also represent thewinding and diverging roads.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Collaborize Classroom]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Collaborize Classroom allows teachers to post questions or topics and allows students to respond, sharing their thoughts and ideas. This fosters academic discussions done in a format similar to the on-line social medias students are so involved it. It is a free source and easy to use. Teachers simply register and sign-up for their classroom. Once they have created their page, you can add students to your site by sending them your URL to register. From there you can click start a discussion and post a question or idea. Students can then go on your site and respond to your post.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Bubbl.us]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Bubbl.us can be used to create a visual cluster map/chart. This website is free to join. As shown below, I would use this for my "heroes" lesson plan, so students can create a list of words that come to mind when they hear "hero", and then formulate that list into a map.