First off I have to say I had a blast making this voice thread. I think that I if had so much fun doing this than my students will too. I do have to say, however, that there are a lot of things my students can do that are fun, but are not school related or educational. I think the key to these voice threads is that they are educational, thought provoking, and require the students to really get involved with the project.
For my voice thread I thought of a problem that I have been having since the beginning of the year with my sixth graders. I am new at teaching the sixth grade so there are a lot of issues I was not prepared to handle. Probably the biggest difference between my high schoolers from last year and my sixth graders is their organization. My sixth graders will walk into class with nothing and when I would ask them to get out a book or paper, they all would stand up and go get their books and paper, others would be asking for a pencil, and still some would be going to the sharpener. It took some time for me to get my students prepared. At first, I thought I could just tell them to come prepared. That did not work. Finally I realized these kids needed to be shown how to be prepared and instructed every step of the way. I also quickly realized that I needed to maintain this behavior with reinforcement of positive and negative behavior.
Click Images to Enlarge
Here are a few screen shots of a voice thread I have made to reflect the issues I was having along with some solutions, and finally my expectations. As I mentioned at the top of this blog, I had a blast making this thing. I created all the graphics in publisher, using paint to create all my graphics. I added clip art characters and furniture to portray my classroom. I made three pictures; one with a disorganized class, one with an organized desk, and one as an organized class. I saved each of these documents as a PDF, then uploaded them to the voice thread site. I got a cheap pair of headphones with a mic on them for six dollars at Wal-Mart and used them to record my voice. (Plus I feel like a pilot wearing them.)
To make this an educational assignment would be easy. Students could use it to do any of the following:
· Use it to record poetry
· Collaborate on creative writing projects.
· Discuss the branches of the government
· Compare different types of government
· Show the steps to solve mathematical problems
· Show the step of how a bill becomes a law
· Show the growth process of a human embryo
These are just a few things I came up with from a quick brainstorm. I tried to think of a couple for each core subject area, but one could easily develop a voice thread for physical education, health, or any other subject. The key is that your students connect to it on a personal level. This will insure a deeper understanding of the subject matter.
I hope you enjoyed this blog and voice thread. I am curious to see how you are, or plan to, use these thing in your classes. Feel free to give me feed back on how to use them or possible obstacles I may have not thought of. Also, let me know about your ideas.
Thanks
Paul, Another amazing blog post. I look forward to see what you will do each week. I also had a blast creating a voicethread. It was user-friendly and quick. I see so much potential for this type of project. Being able to respond to each other is a powerful avenue for creativity, communication skills, and interaction. Of course, it is obvious how voicethreads promote social learning theories. I agree that voicethreads could be used for all subjects across the board. This could certainly be a fun experience for our kids and the teacher who crated it as have you certainly demonstrated, Pilot Paul. Wonderful blog!!!
ReplyDeleteKristin
Paul,
ReplyDeleteYou are a trip! Like you, I am really excited about using Voice Thread... of course, the whole pilot thing didn't come into play for me! :) I've actually tweeked my end-of-the-year project so my kids will create a Voice Thread for their reflection piece as opposed to a written essay. (Way more fun, don't ya think?) In typical "me fashion," I'm making this change 2 days before we start that piece, so it ought to be interesting! I'm jumping in head first... on MONDAY! (I'll let y'all know how it goes!)
Great job!
Deana
Kristin and Deana,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words about my blog. I am glad others enjoy them as much as I enjoy making them.
I am glad, also, to see that you are ready to dive right into this technology for your students. I really can not believe how user friendly this is and with no network blocks, it is a bonus! I tend to shy away from some technology with my students because some programs can be so cumbersome I spend more time instructing how to use the program rather than applying knowledge from the lessons. I do not forsee any of those problems with the voice thread!
Nice job you guys! Keep up the great work!
Paul,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post. Your sense of humor comes through along with your thoughtfulness, and it's an overall just fun blog to read! :)
I think the suggestions you gave for using a Voice Thread in the classroom are awesome ideas. I hadn't thought about recording poetry, which is something my students would love to do! I was also thinking it would be a really great way for them to do a more interactive and engaging presentation that they could also show their parents, which I think would make parents feel more involved.
Deana, I love that you changed things around to include this! I think students would really get more into an end of the year project (which I'm sure among middle schoolers has a negative connotation!) that they would be so much more actively a part of than something else. I hope it turned out great!
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteWe shall see... they're working on their VTs tomorrow! I hope they have even half the fun with them as Paul did! LOL
Deana