Last year I created a post called songs for learning. If you didn’t read it then please have a quick look here: http://bit.ly/bP1Rxj
It was all about using a Microsoft labs product called Songsmith. I absolutely love songsmith and so do the students it is a really simple, quick and easy way for students to enhance their learning by creating their own professional sounding songs (well depends who is singing it!). The best news is that it is now absolutely free if you sign up and register at the innovative teachers network: http://bit.ly/ctVyo4
Last week some of my students wanted to help remember some of the key points they were learning about breathing in and out in a different way. I suggested songsmith as they had not tried it. The students were 12 year olds and I was really surprised that it was the boys who enjoyed it more and actually produced the better songs. Normally these boys are quite shy and reserved in my lessons and songsmith helped me see a different side to them. They really loved using it and it really helped them to remember the key concepts of what they were learning. What do you think? Have you used it? Have you got any examples we could listen to? Here is an example of one of their songs: http://drop.io/songsmith4713
Language and songs is my “must”. Here’s one of the songs I use where I teach language and five senses:
http://www.songsforteaching.com/intellitunes/fivesenses.htm
By the way did you check this blog? I told about your help with a big thank you :)in my guest blog entry:
http://burcuakyol.com
take care, Sebnem
Dan, I’m fascinated by your work with Songsmith. Love to look much more into it, and maybe do something for Merlin. I have to push aside some of my preconceptions about what counts as ‘music’ of course, but apart from that it plays very well to my career-long interest in the importance of music and singing in school. For years at I’ve observed and joined the battle to convince school leaders, government and everybody else that there’s a real neurological link between music, singing and learning and that music isn’t just an ‘extra’, a sort of adornment for the school to wear proudly like a piece of jewellery, discarded when times are hard.