Evaluations

Other Formats

MusiCan

Publisher: Gemini Solutions Ltd.

Publisher’s website: www.musican.com

Age Group: 4-12 years

Curriculum Areas: Music, English, Gaeilge

Year of Publication: 2005

Format: CD Rom

Platform: Mac/PC

Min Spec to run: 

Mac Requirements:

OS 9.0 (Recommended Memory 96MB), OS 10.0 (Recommended Memory 256MB), Screen Resolution 800x600, Sound Card/Graphics Card.

PC Requirements:

Windows 95 or higher, Memory 64MB, Screen Resolution 800x600, Sound Card/ Graphics Card.

Licence: Single user, 1 - 10 users, site licence and free trials available on website.

Recommended Price: E70 - E259

Summary

Excellent, Irish-made programme developed by award winning Gemini software company in Galway. MusiCan 1 is the first in a redesigned series of four titles that are both teacher and pupil friendly and is suitable for Infant classes and is available in Irish and English. The software is suitable for whole class teaching or with individual pupils and is an excellent programme to use on an interactive whiteboard.

The main advantage of this software is that it allows for the different levels of ability of pupils and teachers using MusiCan 1. The animated songs not only develop children’s musical skills but also provide a stimulus for language lessons. Themes such as home, transport, sport, weather and the farm can easily be integrated with other subjects in the Primary Curriculum.

The lesson plans that accompany each module are superb and the resources that can be printed include activity sheets, pictures and lyrics and great time-savers for teachers. On the MusiCan website (www.musican.com), teachers can download a trial version of the software and use the demos to sample the programme.

Other MusiCan products (MusiCan 2,3,4 & 5) are available which give children an in-depth knowledge of the main musical elements including rhythm, pitch, dynamics, texture, pulse, tempo, structure and timbre. MusiCan 1 is an introduction to the series.