Peer Review

Spin the Globe

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Jun 8, 2009 by Teacher Education

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: Spin the Globe is an Internet-based college-licensed radio station using the call letters of KAOS. It is run as a community station, a type of public station with lots of community involvement. The station is based in the South Puget Sound region of Washington State. The site offers world music news, reviews, and radio. You are able to download music, listen to music,and peruse the calendar, playlists, archives, charts, and reviews. The site would provide an excellent resource for a webquest. The free downloads are also useful in creating training materials for foreign language teachers.
Type of Material:: World music collection on the Internet. A variety of music downloads are available in mp3 format, ready to use. Information about the origins of the music is also included.
Recommended Uses:: Historical and cultural contexts for music education; integration in arts education; developing cultural sensitivity; curriculum integration or cross-curricular connections, particularly with social studies, geography, music, language arts and foreign language.
Technical Requirements:: Most current versions of RealPlayer, Winamp, or iTunes need to be installed on your computer.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: The goal of this site is to share culture and music from around the world.
Target Student Population:: This site would be appropriate for any age level from Kindergarten through college as well as community groups.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: None needed.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: The collection of world music is categorized by genre as well as region and country. The choice to listen directly or find music to download offers a range of opportunities for educational content development. Music selections are available from various cultures including India, Africa, Brazil, New Zealand, Israel, etc. The strength of this site is the variety. Ease of access is a benefit.
Concerns:: The site visually appears a bit dated. However, after reading the blog and the content it is obvious that the site is updated and added to on a weekly basis.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: Users will find several examples of music from a variety of locations. The site provides instant access without a subscription which is extremely helpful in teaching situations. The site could be used for developing webquests and in various content areas including social studies, geography, music, language arts, and foreign languages. Supporting resources (photos, stories, blog (www.soundroots.org)) are available to provide the user with more information.
Concerns:: None.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: The site is easy to navigate. Key links are listed consistently at the top of each page. The user may subscribe to the website and information about contacting the webmaster is available. A variety of music downloads are available in mp3 format ready to use. There is also information about the origins of the music.
Concerns:: The site looks dated, but is not.

Other Issues and Comments:: This is a good resource for students and faculty. The blog adds to the music and the photographs on the blog are high quality and provide insight into the various cultures represented.
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