Website Evaluations

1) Name of Web Site: DSO Kids
Mission Statement:
DSO Kids is the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's magical doorway to a world of musical fun and learning for students, parents and teachers. The site's mission is to provide attractive, accessible and child-friendly resources that introduce symphonic music, the orchestra and its instruments, and to encourage both adults and young people to explore the world of the symphony orchestra.
2) Web Site Address: www.dso.com
3) Copyright date and/or last update: Copyright 2010, Dallas Symphony Association
4) Author/organization credentials: There is not a specific author for this website and there are no credentials listed. The DSO Education Department is mentioned several times in the Educational Resources section of the website.
5) Web site design and ease of navigation: The design of the website is appealing to students and teachers. It’s has very clear font and uses bright colors and big tabs which makes it easier for use by children. The navigation of the site is very logical and it would be easy to tell a student exactly where to go on the site without confusion. There are multiple sections on the first page that showcase events and special listening examples as well as a section marked for teachers. At the top of the home page there is a navigation bar that has several different areas for students including a games section, listening section, an activities at home section, a section for the DSO youth programs, a visit the symphony section, and a DSO kids club section. Within each section there are subsections to choose from making it easier to navigate to exactly the right area. Inside the section for teachers there are fantastic educational resources. There is a main resources page for teachers, the tab being at the very top left of the home page. The main teacher resource page lists multiple teacher resources by way of website, text, recordings, videos, and classroom materials. There are sections in the teacher’s area for educational programs, there is a lesson plan database, and also education music links. Overall the design of this website is clean and easy to follow.
6) Your response and recommendation for use: I really enjoyed finding this website; it’s a great general music resource for grade K-8 students. Music teachers could easily add this website into their curriculum and find multiple uses in just one content area on the site. The lesson plan database for teachers makes it easy for a teacher to integrate this site without too much extra work because the lesson plan is already worked out and the content is very substantial and have multiple uses. This site is something kids can access at home with their parents or on campus in the computer lab and listen to homework assignments of the listening examples. It’s also a website the kids can use for fun with the games section that challenges and increases the accessibility of the musical knowledge the teacher is trying to impart on students. I like that the kids can actually join the DSO kids club and receive the benefits from that membership that would include periodic e-mails full of games and resources, a DSO pencil and notepad, a music video, and “All about Jaap” – and introduction to the DSO music director. I would use this site on a regular basis in any general music class. This website would be especially beneficial when studying the instruments of symphonies and the music of orchestras. This website gets an A+ for ease of navigation and well-rounded section development as well as an amazing teacher resource area. I can’t wait to use it!



1) Name of Web Site: Kids.gov
2) Web Site Address: www.kids.gov
3) Copyright date and/or last update: Last revision 2/2/2010
4) Author/organization credentials: There is no specific author or credentials listed on the site. The site does say that the service is provided by the Federal Citizen Information Center of the Office of Citizen Services, U.S. General Services Administration.
5) Web site design and ease of navigation: The design of the website isn’t very appealing. The colors are bland and the font isn’t very fun. I see it being difficult for kids having intrinsic motivation to spend time on this site. The home page has a search bar which I think is a great plus and makes it easy to just type in what you’re looking for instead of having to sift through all the information. On the homepage there are larger boxed off sections that highlight Hot Topics, Career Spotlight, and the Site of the Month. The top of the home page is divided into tabs marked Home, Grades K-5, Grades 6-8, Educators, and Site Map. Within these sections are subsections that highlight various different educational needs of the specific ages of the students. The subsections are easy to get to and they include arts, careers, computers, games, government, health, science, social studies, math, money, and state websites. The educator subsections include a note to educators as well as the exact same subsections as the student areas. The site map clearly lists on one page all that the site has to offer. The navigation of the website is very clear and logical. It wouldn’t be a challenge to get a group of kids to the same place on this site.
6) Your response and recommendation for use: This website has some very valuable information and is extremely educationally beneficial. However, the presentation of the information on the site is not as appealing as I think it should be considering it is mainly a site for kids. The colors and font don’t offer anything exciting enough to entice the interest of kids on their own. The way the site is divided it is very clear for students where they are meant to go based on their grade level. The site is for grade K-8 students. I would use this site in my class for special assignments or projects but probably not for a regular use mainly because I feel like the presentation isn’t very interesting and I know kids would not be as interested in it. There is bounteous information for general education as well as music on this site; it has great potential to assist in cross-curricular lesson purposes. Overall, this website gets a B- for lack of exciting visual stimuli, however, the amount of information from all aspects of early education makes up for its shortcomings enough so that I would still use the site for teaching purposes from time to time.





1) Name of Web Site: From the Top
2) Web Site Address: www.fromthetop.org
3) Copyright date and/or last update: Copyright 2009, From the Top
4) Author/organization credentials: There is no specific author or credentials listed on the webpage. The website is a site for an NPR program called From the Top hosted by Christopher O’Riley. The program is heralded as contemporary culture’s feel-good success story, and reaches more than 700,000 listeners each week. From the Top has been the preeminent showcase for America’s best young musicians. Through award-winning NPR and PBS programs, online media, a national tour of live events, and education programs, From the Top shares the stories and performances of pre-collegiate musicians.
5) Web site design and ease of navigation: The design of this website is really exciting. It is simple but still has exciting information that pops out at the viewer when they log on to the homepage. The homepage displays multiple options for blogs, videos, performance schedules, and past radio show recordings. The top of the homepage displays tabs for the NPR Radio Program, PBS Television Program, Be on the Show, Community Engagements, Scholarship, For Teachers, and Alumni Gateway. Above the main tabs are smaller tabs for the About section, Blog, Support, Store, and Contact. There is also a search bar which allows for easy access to specific information. Featured on the homepage are bigger tabs for recent Blog News, Concerts and Events, and an area for information on This Week’s Radio Show. The navigation of this site is easy and logical. It would be effortless to assign students a specific thing to look for or research. This site links with multiple social networking sites which makes it more enticing for modern students to become interested in following the programs on their own. It also gives them the opportunity to access information anytime and anywhere. The navigation was a breeze.
6) Your response and recommendation for use: I really enjoyed finding this site and looking through all the information presented. There is a plethora of educational benefits for this site. I love that it is tied to the NPR show From the Top which makes it unique from other education websites. The site offers links for scholarships, concert dates in different cities, and recordings of the shows. It’s very interactive by way of blogging and videos. There is a tab for educators and the educator section offers a teaching kit that contains multimedia products that you could use in the classroom. There is also a blog for teachers as well as educational information websites for music educators. This site would be for grade 9-12 students. I would most definitely use this website in my classroom. It would be very beneficial to the students to get them hooked on a program that showcases musicians of their own age. Since students are in school and would be unable to access the radio show at the normal airing time, this website offers a medium to still experience such a fantastic music program for young musicians. Students could also have the opportunity to audition to be showcased on the radio program. I would also assign special projects for students based on videos or blogs that would be posted on the site. There would be research involved and the website provides sound information that is high quality and reliable. Overall, this website gets an A+ for extensive quality content, ease of navigation, simple design, and the unique quality of being tied to an NPR radio show.






1) Name of Web Site: Ricci Adams’ musictheory.net
2) Web Site Address: www.musictheory.net
3) Copyright date and/or last update: Copyright 2000-2009, Ricci Adams
4) Author/organization credentials: Author: Ricci Adams, B.S. Computer Science
5) Web site design and ease of navigation: The design of this site is very clear cut and to the point. On the homepage there are three tabs for Translations (into different languages), About, and Contact. Below those tabs are scroll tabs that go right into the education information of the site. There is a Lessons tab, a Trainers tab, and a Utilities tab. The Lessons section offers beginning to advanced music theory information, the Trainers section offers beginning to advanced ear training theory information, and the Utilities sections offers a Staff Paper Generator, a Chord Calculator, and a Matrix Generator. The navigation of this site is absolutely perfect for students of all backgrounds; it would be easy for computer literate and computer illiterate students to use. There are no fun pictures or games but the material is so great and solid that there’s no need for anything other than what the author intended.
6) Your response and recommendation for use: This site is a true gem. It has a fantastic learning scope for students of all levels of music theory. It would be used for grade 6-12 students. I would use this website on a weekly basis in my classroom for general music theory knowledge. I would assign students sections from the site and then test them on their knowledge through application of the music theory. This site is easily accessible and would be interesting for any student wanting to improve their musical language knowledge. The way the theory is presented is very logical and would complement the music classroom in a highly constructive way. This website is a must for teachers who want their students to really learn more music theory and be able to apply that knowledge on a daily basis in the classroom as well as private music learning areas. Overall, this site gets an A+ for easily accessible music theory information presented in a clear and easy to understand format. I can’t wait to use this site in my teaching now!









1) Name of Web Site: Morton Subotnick’s Creating Music
Mission Statement:
Creatingmusic.com is a children's online creative music environment for children of all ages. It's a place for kids to compose music, play with musical performance, music games and music puzzles. Come discover fun and easy ways to make music.
2) Web Site Address: www.creatingmusic.com
3) Copyright date and/or last update: Copyright 1999, Morton Subotnick
4) Author/organization credentials: Author: Morton Subotnick, Producer: Morton Subotnick, Art Director: Leslie Sawin Kepner, Animation: Steven Subotnick, Shockwave Programming: Morton Subotnick, Java Programming: Mark Coniglio, Special Shockwave Programming: Hunter Ochs, Consultants: Jane Wheeler and Sandra Stauffer, Website: Studio X, Santa Fe.
5) Web site design and ease of navigation: The design of this site is fantastic for children. It displays big colorful pictures with text above indicating what the area would be instead of tabs. It is very simply done, there are only six different areas to go to. There are Creating your own Music, Creating Music Store, Playing with music, About Music, Informational Center, and Hearing Music sections. The navigation is quite simple like the design and it would be accessible to even young children. The design of the games and various educational lessons are less than appealing from a music educator point of view. Some of the areas have great ideas in terms of what the designer is trying to teach the students but fall short of success by being difficult to understand how to use the tools. Other than those problems the design of the site and the navigation of the site are perfect for early music learners.
6) Your response and recommendation for use: This site was promising upon discovering it and seeing how it was designed and how easy it would be for very young learners to navigate. It is also an award-winning music website. However, the way the designer has set up different areas of interactive learning makes the application much more complicated than should be expected for the age group they are appealing to. This site would be for grade K-5 students. The site is free but offers educational computer CDs that you can order and have for use in your home or classroom. I would only use this site in the classroom to play the ear training games with the kids. I would encourage parents to let kids access the site at home to play those games or work through other areas where the application of the learning is a little more complicated. Anytime a child can roam around safely in a learning area where they can discover things for themselves is wonderful. I don’t necessarily agree with how the composing game areas use the interactive tools to teach the composition, but I don’t think it could hurt the kids to play around with it in their free time. Overall, this website gets a B for great material but difficult application of most of the concepts.