In an era when the survival of arts programs in public schools is under constant threat, promoting music education can be an uphill battle. With finite resources and exploding class sizes, educators across the country have learned to get creative in their quest to provide students with access to the tools they need.

For Richard Soos' after-school technology program at Anne Darling elementary school in San Jose, Calif., getting creative meant introducing his group of musically inclined students to the power of the Internet by helping them record their music and post it on MP3.com in its special schoolkids area. After creating and selling three CDs of music performed by the group of third- to fifth-grade students and generating more than $400 through MP3.com's Payback for Playback program, the Anne Darling technology club recently received an Internet Innovator Award from National Semiconductor Corp. The award provided $10,000 to Soos and $20,000 to Anne Darling Elementary School in recognition of the project.