Seven great ed-tech tools for music instruction

Noteflight

Learning rating: 4

Grade range: 6-12

What is it? Safe, collaborative space for creating and sharing original music.

Pros: Noteflight for Teachers helps teachers and students safely share assignments, musical concept examples, and opinions.

Cons: The extensive options can be confusing at first for novices; student comments offer key feedback, but with no language filter, these could get out of hand.

Bottom line: This useful, well-constructed music composition tool lets classrooms collaborate and comment on student-created songs.

Review: http://www.graphite.org/website/noteflight

 

Sound Shapes

Learning rating: 4

Grade range: 9-12

What is it? Jazzy music game lets kids design levels and create music.

Pros: Find an exciting and inspiring way for kids to tap into their digital music creativity.

Cons: Kids won’t learn formal music notation.

Bottom line: Simple but powerful, Sound Shapes exposes kids to creative tools and offers a robust online community for sharing.

Review: http://www.graphite.org/game/sound-shapes