NetGenEd Sounding boards. Kim Cofino is an expert at this model and is running this:
"The Sounding Board process is a very easy, fun and eye-opening way for younger students (upper elementary, middle, and lower high school) to participate in one of these amazing, global projects. Basically Sounding Boards act as peer reviewers for the students participating in the project. Small groups of students in the Sounding Board classrooms will review one NetGenEd student group's work and offer very simple peer feedback.
This time around, I have to admit, the project is even more exciting because it's part of a larger project organized by Don Tapscott, author of Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World. Here's his intro to the wider project:"
Please put a call out and join in! Thanks!
This is a wonderful site from the University of Salford in the UK. Listen to soundscapes which have been recorded all over the world. Navigate on the map to find a place of interest, listen to the recording and read the information about the location. Upload your own soundscapes using the site or download the iPhone and iPad app at https://itunes.apple.com/app/i-say/id516927213. It's a useful geography resource and should get your students thinking about the sounds around them.
http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Music%2C+Sound+%26+Podcasts
Soungle is a free site that allows users to easily find and search sound effects and musical instruments samples along our huge online library. Every sound downloaded from our database is completely free.
I don't really give details about the sites I'm listing here because they're all very similar - the music and sounds here are royalty-free and it's just an easy matter of searching and downloading them. Of course, credit should be given to the source when they're used in online projects. I've also tried avoiding sites that have obvious content not appropriate for classroom use, but something might have slipped by me.
I also don't believe that any of the sites here require any software download or registration.
Here are my choices for The Best Places To Get Royalty-Free Music & Sound Effects:
"A superb online whiteboard suite of tools, including a random name picker, classroom sound level indicator, display a QR code, drawing and text tools, traffic lights, timers, clocks and dates, and even a fab exit poll tool. You can even change the background, including your own images to display extra resource information, or use your computer camera to show live video like a visualiser."
Welcome to our Royalty Free Sounds from Creative Commons and Public Domain only at SoundBible.com These sounds are completely royalty free, meaning you can use them commercially without paying a cent.
This musical site gives you a virtual synthesiser to create wonderful tunes and sound effects on. It's easy to use and versatile. You can play the middle octave with your computer keyboard or plot the music along a timeline for greater accuracy.
http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Music%2C+Sound+%26+Podcasts
This is an amazing, beautifully made and entertaining site for young children to learn phonic sounds. Design a monster and take it on an adventure around a magic area to find the letter sounds and fix a spaceship. The storyline is good and the activities are educational and motivational.
http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/English
Yes, this study was funded by Booktrack (a 2011 study), however, I find that the information is fascinating. By setting sound tracks of different mood music, this study showed:
*Virtually all subjects performed moderately to significantly better on information retention tests.
* Subjects reported a strong correlation with interacting with the enhanced platform and an ability to focus.
There are other results on this, but I find this fascinating and find this a very interesting point to consider as ebooks evolve. Will ebook authors attach music to different pages? Will reading become more cinematic and theatrical? All kinds of interesting thoughts here.