"Pay-to-play" Educational Software Games?

Written by Robert Cummings


Science Academy Software has developed a new business model or paradigm for Education. It is a web-based "pay to play" educational game site named ScienceAcademy.TV for high-bandwidth clients. This article discussesrepparttar issues and rationale behind Science Academy Software's educational game portal ScienceAcademy.TV -- home to a new online educational game called "BasketMath V3.

Why "Pay-to-Play" educational games online?

Users get to have a learning experience inrepparttar 109271 form of a game. It's appropriate for audiences for instruction, testing, drill and practice. Web channel distribution allows learning to occur any time any place. The entertainment value ofrepparttar 109272 software contributes to pleasing user experience. It's low cost alternative to traditional classroom instruction and educational software distribution. Everyone benefits from subscribing (learning).

Traditional Educational Software Delivery Issues

A school teacher buying educational software, inrepparttar 109273 traditional sense, buys copies, lab packs or site licenses. They face a barrage of complex issues related to acquisition and use. Issues like:

1. Isrepparttar 109274 software appropriate? This requires evaluation inrepparttar 109275 form of asking: What isrepparttar 109276 instructional component? Doesrepparttar 109277 software provide testing and assessment capabilities, is there a measurement of achievement? Are results immediate (we all know kids can't wait)? From a teacher's perspective, this means having students practice those areas of weakness to achieve mastery.

2. Can I use it in my class? Issues: will it serve my students? Is it safe? Are there school adoption procedures or bureaucratic red-tape torepparttar 109278 software acquisition? What political issues will I have to deal with, if any?

3. Utilization - how much of this software really gets used by students? Willrepparttar 109279 software get reused after "newness" wears off? Students generally "burnout" or frequently userepparttar 109280 game inrepparttar 109281 first 24 hours; interest thereafter declines.

4. Need for portability, Can I use it on all my PCs? Web enabled machines make learning possible anytime - at school, in after-school programs, or at home (learning occurs anytime any where).

5 Can instructional material be shared with diverse age groups or learning disabilities (people learn differently)?

6. Can instructional material provide support individualized attention (people learn at different rates)? It is great when you have a teacher, parent or tutor, but what if you don't? Educational software isrepparttar 109282 next best alternative.

7. Value is based on educational and entertainment elements torepparttar 109283 software. Entertainment value is very important torepparttar 109284 delivery of educational software: Ideally,repparttar 109285 content should engagerepparttar 109286 user -- a characteristic of most video games. Most children today have a video game orientation.

8. The role of obsolescence: Books and printed materials wear, tear, and go out of date. Software on disk or CDROM also go out of date or may not run on newer machines. Upgrades also contribute torepparttar 109287 logistical nightmare to school computers management and support. Not so with a Web application or services that can provide updates in a timely manner or "on-the-fly".

Learn to Read Piano Music...This Afternoon!

Written by Jan Durrant


Making Music Now's Mini Course A Music Basics Guide forrepparttar Beginning Musician

Hello! Welcome torepparttar 109270 wonderful world of music. Have you always dreamed of being able to learn how to playrepparttar 109271 piano, keyboard, guitar or any other instrument? Well, your dream is just about to come true with this Free Music eCourse. This dream of yours is not something so far away that it cannot become a reality in a very short while.

This is not rocket science but it does take a genuine commitment on your part to read all seven chapters of this Free Music eCourse in order to learnrepparttar 109272 music fundamentals that will apply to any instrument. Be sure to STICK WITH IT!

Make it a point to pace yourself. The course has been written withrepparttar 109273 intention of going through it in order, with one chapter building onrepparttar 109274 next. Now that you have laidrepparttar 109275 groundwork for your plan, let us begin! Whatever instument you are studying or plan to study inrepparttar 109276 future, each one of those instruments has a history. Let's take a moment to learn a very brief history of keyboard instruments.

Did you know that pianos in some form have been around for over 500 years? Some ofrepparttar 109277 first instruments of this kind were called clavichords. They had a very light, metallic sound becauserepparttar 109278 small hand-pounded 'hammers' were made of very light weight metal-like material. These hammers struck strings of varying lengths to create different tones or pitches. The next cousin torepparttar 109279 clavichord wasrepparttar 109280 harpsichord invented by Cristofori in Italy around 1450 A.D. This keyboard instrument had a mechanism in it calledrepparttar 109281 plecktrum which 'plucked'repparttar 109282 strings and produced a slightly stronger sound than its predecessor.

Whether you are playing an acoustic instrument, which isrepparttar 109283 closest relative torepparttar 109284 history just mentioned, or an electronic keyboard, you are now participating in a centuries old musical art form.

SOME PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Piano or Keyboard?

Does it matter if you have a keyboard or a piano? Certainly not. The only real difference is that a full size piano has 88 keys (counting bothrepparttar 109285 white and black keys). Keyboards come in several different sizes. Some have 60 keys, some even less. There are also 88 key electronic keyboards and digital pianos that produce very realistic acoustic sounds. Whatever size your instrument may be, remember thatrepparttar 109286 ARRANGEMENT ofrepparttar 109287 keys andrepparttar 109288 ORDER ofrepparttar 109289 KEY NAMES isrepparttar 109290 same on both instruments. Rest assured that your basic knowledge ofrepparttar 109291 fundamentals of music can be learned quite effectively either on a keyboard or a piano. The only missing ingredient is your own persistence and determination to persevere throughrepparttar 109292 entirety ofrepparttar 109293 material in this course with regular practice sessions. Do that and your success is assured!

SELECTING THE BEST LEARNING PLACE IN YOUR HOME

Please take a moment and give serious consideration at to WHERE you practice in your home. Make sure that you are not within earshot ofrepparttar 109294 television. Even if you are used to 'watching TV with your ears' while you do other things, it will definitely be a roadblock to your learning to Play Piano Now! Also, make sure that you can sit down at your piano or keyboard comfortably. If you have a piano and a bench which came with it when you bought it, then you are in great shape. Seating at a keyboard can prove a little more difficult. Just make sure that you are not reaching too high up or stooping down too low forrepparttar 109295 keyboard. Finding a chair that isrepparttar 109296 right height isrepparttar 109297 key. The right height chair will allow your arms to be a an almost perfect right angle (45 degree) from your body torepparttar 109298 keyboard. Don't worry too much about this. If you haverepparttar 109299 wrong height of chair your back will start screaming at you to change your position!!! Please make any adjustments to keep your back straight and your arms at a 45 degree angle and you enjoy hours of music in one seating.

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