A
Teen's Personal Guide to Music on the Web
a WebQuest for middle/high school
music or computer application students
by David
Dineen
Introduction | Task
| Resources | Process |
Evaluation
| Conclusion | Teacher's
Guide
Introduction
Have you ever gone to the mall and
bought a record? Have you ever seen or held a 45? Does your parents' car
have an 8 track player? If you've answered "no!" to any of these questions,
you are most likely a member of the millennium generation. Your generation
is experiencing great advances in technology in music like never seen before!
Most of you currently buy music cd's from retail stores, but there are
many new ways to find and purchase music on the web. CD's may soon be a
thing of the past! Currently, you can preview and download your favorite
songs from the internet and create your own CD's or MP3 disks! And - you
don't have to purchase the whole collection of songs from a CD; you can
choose just your favorite tracks! Also, the internet holds a wealth of
information like finding/previewing/downloading music, finding information
on your favorite groups, finding resources for creating music with a computer,
and finding information and listening to music from around the world! As
part of this new generation, you will be pioneering these new advances
in music technology!
The Task
Your task is to produce a document
(word processing, web page, or multimedia presentation) that will serve
as your own personal guide to music on the web. This document must
contain the following:
-
Introduction of yourself and how your
musical interests have developed
-
Minimum of 3 of your favorite groups/composers
and links to the best web sites for each.
-
Minimum of 3 links to sites where music
can be purchased (2 sites) or downloaded (1 site)
-
Minimum of 3 links to web sites containing
music from different cultures.
-
4 sites that can be resources for creating
music with the computer.
-
Summary of this experience.
Resources
Here are some valuable resources
to get you started. If these do not help, feel free to use well known reliable
search engines!
The Process
The process is relatively simple.
Do not get overwhelmed! Your instructor will decide what type of document
you are to prepare based on what you already know. Here are the steps to
follow. When you have finished step 6, you are done! The first step is
always the most difficult to take. So take a deep breath and get started!
1• Introduce yourself and
your musical interests
Begin with a paragraph to introduce something
about you and how your musical interests have developed. Some questions
you may want to use as a basis for this introduction are the following:
-
What kinds of music have been exposed to you?
-
Who has helped influence your musical interests?
-
Do you play an instrument?
-
What radio/cable stations do you frequent?
You may also want to include a graphic or picture
of yourself here.
2• Favorite groups/composers
(minimum of 3)
For this section, you need to write a paragraph
for each of your favorite groups/composers. Be sure to include all of the
following for each group/composer:
-
Group's/composer's style of music
-
Your favorite songs or CD titles for each group/composer
-
Why you like the group/composer
-
A minimum of 3 links to the best web
sites for each
3• Sites to preview/purchase/download
music
You are a pioneer in the newest technologies of
purchasing music for your personal collections. Trips to music stores to
purchase overpriced CD's that contain 1 track that you want with 13 tracks
of songs you will never play are a thing of the past! There are many sites
available to preview music before you buy. With MP3 players and software
like LiquidAudio, you can download your favorite tracks and burn your own
CD's!
Your mission in this section is to find a minimum
of 3 sites to preview and/or purchase music on the web. Be sure that
at
least 1 site allows you to download audio files in MP3 or LiquidAudio
formats. Write a paragraph for each site and be sure to include the following:
-
Description of the site
-
Ease of use of the site
-
Features of the site
-
Why you picked this site over others that you have
browsed
-
A link to each site
4• Music from different cultures
Sometimes we all get "lost" in our own little
world and culture. Sometimes its hard to reach out and discover that there
is music out there that may be of interest to us. This section will help
to expose you to music of cultures other than your own. Perhaps you may
pursue these interests further in the future!
Your mission in this section is to find 3 countries
other
than your own whose music you enjoy. You may reach into your own ethnic/cultural
background or venture into other cultures. You must write a paragraph for
each country/culture that you have chosen. Be sure to include the following
for each:
-
Name of country/culture
-
Your own description of the music
-
Why you like this music
-
Link(s) to a site(S) for each country and/or link(s)
to song(s) representative of each country
5• Creating music with a
computer
Much of the music heard today on radio, tv, or
in the movies is composed and performed with the use of a computer. Music
workstations are fairly inexpensive and fairly easy to use.
Your mission is to delve into the world of computer
generated music and find some resources in case you are ever interested
in pursuing computer music! You must find 4 sites for this section:
-
Online computer/music magazine
-
MIDI resource (Be sure this site can answer the following:
what is MIDI?, how to set up MIDI?)
-
Online music store (where to purchase music software/hardware
online)
-
A site to get your new music heard online
Write a paragraph for each site and be sure to include
the following:
-
Description of site
-
Link to site
-
Usefulness to you
6 Summary
Write a paragraph that summarizes your experience
in this WebQuest. Some items you may want to include in this paragraph
are the following:
-
New sites you have found
-
Usefulness to you in the future
-
New concepts you have learned
-
New software processes you have mastered
-
Sites you plan to continue to visit
Evaluation
You will be evaluated on your completed
personal guide and your participation in this project. Please refer to
the Rubric
for more details!
Conclusion
Wow! You completed your mission!
Hopefully, you have been exposed to some new musical experiences on the
web and you have a great music guide that you can use and continue updating
in the future!
Last updated May 22, 2000
Based on a template from
The
Webquest Page.
Music Graphics courtesy of Music
Graphics Galore!