Mozart to Michelangelo
Software to hone your students' fine arts skills
By Russell Smith
If you're shopping for software to enhance your
fine arts programs, you'll have to face the grim reality that
software companies have often neglected music and art in favor
of the better-selling core-subject programs. I had to scour the
industry's offerings to find worthwhile programs for classroom
artists and musicians:
Elementary Programs
 Curious
George Paint & Print Studio 
Sunburst
Technology. (800) 321-7511. Ages 4 to 9. Curious George is
a cut above the many other elementary paint programs on the market.
Three levels of difficulty mean the program appeals to the youngest
preschooler as well as to older students. The program boasts a
large collection of clip art and template backgrounds that students
can import into their creations. Some of the clip art can be animated,
and it all benefits from resizing and positioning tools. A teacher's
manual provides activity suggestions for students and teachers
alike, showing how to create signs, name tags, and certificates.
Draw & Paint Plus
Forest Technologies.
(800) 544-3356. Ages 4 to 9. Here's a fun little paint program
with simple controls and an easy-to-navigate interface. Children
can select from 20 colorful scenic backgrounds, and a stamp tool
allows them to insert colorful cartoon art. A special-effects
button creates mosaic and tiling effects.
On the down side, the Windows version needs to be run in 256-color
mode -- an old requirement that needs updating. The lack of a
manual or teacher's guide is another negative, but the readme.txt
file on the CD has decent instructions and lesson suggestions.
Even with the drawbacks, this is a neat paint program for younger
students.
EasyBook
Deluxe
Sunburst Technology. (800)
321-7511. Ages 8 to 14. This easy-to-use software allows older
elementary students to produce a double-sided original book on
any printer. It boasts a host of writing tools, including spell-checker,
thesaurus, text-to-speech, editing, and formatting tools. Students
can create super illustrations in seconds by drawing, importing
graphics, or choosing from beautiful backgrounds and hundreds
of modifiable stamps.
EasyBook can be used independently by a single
user, or by pairs or groups of students working on a writing project.
Suggested EasyBook activities include biographies, cookbooks,
mini-books, greeting cards, and photo albums. A superb teacher's
manual offers full instructions and a host of worthwhile activities.
The
Glowbird Collection 
Sunburst Technology. (800)
321-7511. This four-part ILS -- individualized learning system
-- is produced by Little Planet Literacy and has a nice art component
in Volume Four (Creating Original Books). The Glowbird Collection
combines video, computer software, and extensive print materials
into a set of exciting multimedia tools designed to help young
children acquire literacy skills. Students revisit key themes,
sequence scenes, and develop, record, write, and read their own
books. The Software Information Industry Association recognized
this collection with the Codie Award for Best Curriculum Software
for Early Education in 1997.
Imagynasium 
Forest Technologies.
(800) 544-3356. Ages 7 to 12. Southpeak Interactive, chiefly a
video and PC game producer (http://www. southpeak.com), collaborated
on this CD with the technical help of Robert Redford's Sundance
Institute, and the finished product shows their influence. Glenn
Close and Jonathan Winters lend their voices as narrators for
two of the wacky characters in this fun program. Imagynasium lets
kids tell stories, create artwork and collages, or make their
own music. This program doesn't teach a plethora of essential
elements, but then, who says school has to be all work and no
play?
I rate this program extremely high for creativity
-- especially in the StoryTelling segment. But I have to take
points off for the navigation interface, which is so muddled that
it's hard to figure out what to do and where to go.
JumpStart
Music 
Knowledge Adventure.
(800) 545-7677. Ages 5 to 8. Jumpstart Music is another hit in
the long line of highly innovative JumpStart programs. Young music
students will have hours of fun learning important musical concepts.
Users help guide a rabbit named Hopsalot along a footpath filled
with magical adventures. The onscreen instructions are well-presented,
and kids learn about such things as melody, harmony, notation,
and musical scales as they help Hopsalot complete his journey.
One activity asks students to pick which instrument makes a certain
sound. On another screen, kids help compose a tune with a xylophone
made of singing pigs.
Students will love the many arcade game activities,
and teachers will love the low price ($10 at the web site). Check
your local discount stores for even better bargains on collections
of the popular JumpStart programs.
Of all the JumpStart programs I have previewed, I rate only one
(JumpStart Adventures 4th Grade) as below average.
Kid
Works Deluxe
Knowledge Adventure.
(800) 545-7677. Ages 4 to 9. This updated version of a classic
1995 Davidson program has great educational content for elementary
students. The program makes creating multimedia books so easy
that students will be up and running immediately. With a little
assistance from the instruction guide, users will be able to insert
graphics and sound effects or create their own. A new text-to-speech
component allows playback of stories in one of several funny computer
voices or in the recorded voice of the student.
The writing background looks like a Big Chief writing
tablet, and students can insert sticker art directly into the
text sentences. A simple yet full-featured paint component allows
students to create larger illustrations. It's fun and easy enough
for preschoolers but has enough challenging content for third-graders.
Secondary Programs
The
Art of Seeing
Clearvue/eav. Inc. and Zane
Publishing, Inc. (800) 253-2788. Ages 9 to 14. Every middle
school art classroom should have this CD. It has a sophisticated
yet uncluttered interface for the art presentations and additional
goodies such as quizzes, an encyclopedia, a Merriam-Webster dictionary,
and a teacher's guide on disk.
The Art of Seeing introduces students to the basic
elements of art and offers a nice history of important artists
and art styles, along with excellent video clips with tips from
modern artists. Viewers can examine artistic concepts and learn
techniques involving color, shape, composition, perspective, pattern,
texture, and illusions. Other tutorials cover ceramics, pottery,
sculpture, and stained glass.
AudioCatalyst
Xing Technology Corp. No
telephone support. Ages 14 to adult. This program allows users
to convert audio CD files into much smaller MP3 files, in a process
known as "ripping." In digital audio technology, a ripper is a
program that moves a sound sequence from a compact disk onto a
computer hard drive as a wave, or .wav, file. As a way to store
music files compactly, MP3 files are the hottest rage on the Internet,
and Xing -- which was bought out by RealNetworks in September
-- has one of the fastest programs on the market, typically requiring
three to four minutes per song conversion.
For a registration fee of $29.95, the Xing program
is an excellent buy. A complementary player program from Xing,
the Xing MP3 Player, is available free from the company's web
site and plays MP3 files as well as .wav and MPEG video files.
If you use these devices in your school, be sure teachers and
students are familiar with the copyright regulations surrounding
them. [For information on copyright regulations, see "Copyright
in a Digital Age" on page 26.]
Inspiration
6.0
Inspiration Software, Inc.
(800) 877-4292. Ages 10 to adult. Since its inception in 1997,
this graphical organizing program has been gathering recognition
in teacher circles around the globe -- and racking up software
awards, including four consecutive years of EDDIE (Education Software
Review) Awards in the Teacher Productivity category. I think of
Inspiration as a computer flowchart creator on steroids.
Innovative templates allow teachers to create well-organized
diagrams and idea maps in several categories: language arts, social
studies, science, teacher planning, and thinking tools. The program
has more than 1,250 built-in symbols of animals, faces, foods,
etc., for use in projects. Students will benefit from Inspiration
by using higher-order thinking skills to develop interconnections
between ideas and concepts, as in plotting a novel or developing
a story line. The use of organized graphical ideas helps clarify
thinking and increases retention for learners.
This program is rapidly becoming the premier organizing
tool for teachers and secondary students. A powerful Outline mode
helps students organize and arrange important ideas so they can
develop thoughtful essays and concise reports. The program also
allows students to insert hyperlinks that take viewers straight
from Inspiration to the Internet in either diagram or outline
mode.
MAGIX
Music Maker Generation 5 
MAGIX Entertainment
Corp. (310) 656-0644. Ages 14 to adult. This popular German-based
software allows students to produce their own music and videos
using a 32-track arranger onscreen. New features in this Windows-only
version include the ability to import .wav files and MP3 files.
Internet functions allow students to connect to the web with other
MAGIX Music Maker users in chat rooms, where they can create songs
together. The large collection of royalty-free sound files included
with the program allows users to create music without fear of
copyright infringement.
I found the Music Maker program interface overly
technical for both average computer users and casual musicians.
Advanced music students and home bands might find this program
useful, but I consider it too complicated for typical high school
students.
MAGIX has several other new products, including
a professional music-editing program called Music Maker Professional
that comes with 14 CDs that include 8.4 gigabytes of music samples,
sound effects, animations, graphics, and video files. Users can
edit music as well as MPEG movie files. Advanced music students
will appreciate these programs, but I'd pass on them for regular
classroom use.
Music Ace
2 
Harmonic Vision.
(800) 474-0903. Ages 10 to adult. After looking at the excellent
original Music Ace software years ago, I was prepared for an equally
good performance in the new Music Ace 2. But Music Ace 2 is even
better than I expected -- and is a stunning complement to the
original Music Ace (which is still available).
Designed for beginner and intermediate music students,
Music Ace 2 picks up where the original stopped. I recommend starting
with the original Music Ace, which covers such beginner skills
as note reading, ear training, keyboard basics, sharps and flats,
and whole and half steps. Music Ace 2 covers more advanced topics,
such as rhythm, harmony, syncopation, standard notation, melody,
rests, and measures.
As in the original, a cute cartoon character named
Maestro Max leads 24 comprehensive lessons in a gamelike interface.
Each CD also contains 24 challenging games to reinforce musical
skills. Even beginners can compose music using a creative composition
tool called Doodle Pad. Users can also listen to and modify popular
music selections from the Jukebox section of Music Doodle Pad.
A special feature in Music Ace 2 tracks an individual's
progress through all the lessons and games. Completion Count provides
the number of times the user has gone through each section of
a lesson, and Game's Progress tracks high scores.
What I really like about Music Ace 2 is that it
teaches real musical skills, not just an introduction to music,
and it does so in an entertaining fashion. It does all of this
without the need for an expensive MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital
Interface) keyboard. The teacher's edition has a nice ring-binder
manual that's full of activities, lesson suggestions, and black-line
masters.
Paul Cezanne: Portrait of My World 
Forest Technologies.
(800) 544-3356. Ages 12 to adult. This 1996 program hit a niche
market among software consumers and has become an excellent resource
for art history students. Its multimedia effects might seem tame
to some users, but students will discover keen and perceptive
insights into the life of Paul Cezanne. Features include a well-organized
timeline of Cezanne's life and an indexed view of his important
art works. A nice touch is the English-speaking French narrator
who translates Cezanne's words as users click on hyperlinked images
of his paintings. A graphic matrix screen keeps track of all the
artwork and CD activities a user has viewed in the program so
teachers and students can assess their progress.
It would be nice to have a series about famous
artists on CDs or DVD disks. I expect exceptional digital textbooks,
covering art history and other subjects, will be published in
the near future, but right now programmers and writers are rarely
coordinating smoothly enough to produce marketable products. And
unresolved hardware problems -- involving cost, portability, and
readability -- are also slowing the changeover from traditional
textbooks.
PrintMusic!
2000 
Coda Music Technology.
(800) 843-2066. Ages 14 to adult. PrintMusic! 2000 is the low-cost
sibling to Coda's powerful Finale and Allegro software, the top-end
music programs designed for band directors and band music technicians.
(I think of them as the Adobe Photoshops of musical software.)
Even though it's much cheaper, PrintMusic! has
some pretty powerful features: Students can get up and running
quickly by using the program's 100 musical samples or converting
popular MIDI files from the Internet into sheet music.
Band directors will appreciate the new Set-Up Wizard
that lets them select specific band instruments and set up the
appropriate musical score on any size page -- perfect for marching
band members who need small sheets. The new 2000 version also
features Maestro Font, which resembles engraved music, with bold
noteheads, elegant clefs, and classical articulations. Another
new feature is the automatic Fibonacci Music Spacing that allows
digital composers to get that engraved look every time they enter
notes.
SmartMusic
Studio
Coda Music Technology.
(888) 874-2144. Ages 10 to adult. Formerly known as Vivace, SmartMusic
is an interactive, computer-based practice program for woodwinds,
brass players, and vocalists. The full version includes a headset
microphone for vocals, an electronic foot pedal for keeping the
beat, and an instrument microphone that can be clipped to a user's
clothing.
Instrumentalists will love the interactive onscreen
tuner that shows users how to tune their instruments. Vocalists
will appreciate the onscreen piano that accompanies warm-up practices.
The program also features such musical effects as transposing
music to any key, slowing down tempo for learning new passages,
and putting difficult sections into a practice loop.
The Intelligent Accompaniment feature in SmartMusic
follows spontaneous tempo changes, which means students can express
themselves in creative rifts. They can also turn off Intelligent
Accompaniment and follow the music's original tempo.
SmartMusic Studio can improve musical skills for
both the most timid beginner and the most accomplished virtuoso.
Coming attractions
My crystal ball tells me we'll see even better
art and music software in the future as the hardware begins to
change from keyboard and mouse input to voice and tablet interface.
The new gigahertz computers provide peripheral manufacturers,
as well as software companies, with new opportunities to create
amazing products.
It won't happen overnight, but I expect wireless
peripherals with great potential for all computer disciplines
will be invented in this decade. Wireless Wacom tablets will provide
every child with a digital drawing pad, and music software will
allow students to analyze the very essence of a musical performance.
So hang on for a decade of change that will make the World Wide
Web decade look and sound like something that came from an old
Victrola gramophone.
Russell
Smith is a contributing editor to Electronic
School and an educational technology consultant for Region 14
Education Service Center in Abilene, Texas.
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