One of my EMDT teammate's that I have worked with on several projects, introduced me to VoiceThread. I had seen some examples of VoiceThreads she had created for her classes, and was very excited to try it out in my classroom.
I teach a class called H.O.P.E, which stands for Health Opportunities through Physical Education. This class is mainly composed of ninth graders, and is mandatory for graduation. The school district has done away with Health and Personal Fitness classes and combined it into a single class that also ties in the actual physical education. I have two days in the classroom a week to teach the curriculum, and the other three days are spent doing physical activities. I have struggled to tie in the "inside" and "outside" components of the class.
VoiceThread gives me the ability to have a discussion, based on our physical activities, that can be done at home or in the media center. This doesn't take away from my limited class time, but gives recognition to the important aspects of the class done while students are playing. Additionally, students are able to participate with their voices or with their typed comments. Although it is preferred to have students voice record, it allows students without a microphone to participate in the lesson. VoiceThread allows student to personalize their identity which gives them some creative freedom. It is always interesting to see what images students will choose to represent themselves.
My high school has recently opened an exergaming room where students can participate in fitness opportunities that can be done through gaming. The teachers in my department have been eager to find out what students think, so I have used VoiceThread to get some feedback. The VoiceThread can be seen below.
VoiceThread is an excellent tool because it is very easy to use, and easy to teach students how to use. Kids like the idea of an alternative assessment as well. A student's personality and individuality can be detected through their voice. A lot can be learned about the student versus reading a generic paragraph they may have written in response to a prompt. This will be the first experience any of my students have had with VoiceThread or anything like it. I will be using this Web 2.0 tool in my classroom for many years to come.
Julie,
ReplyDeleteI think VoiceThread is a great opportunity for your students. It will also give you some feedback on how the students feel about what is happening in your classroom. When I am in a situation where my students can use this type of program, I would like to use it. It sounds like a really great tool.
You know how I feel about VoiceThread. It can be used in so many ways. I think this is a great idea to get more ideas on incorporating gaming into our educational system or after school activities to show students how many different ways there are to stay fit.
ReplyDeleteThank you Julie for your post on VoiceThread.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the information on how you use VoiceThread in your HOPE class and how your school offers 'Exergamming'. As a debate coach, I can use VoiceThread on students' argumentation and be able to categorize the topics for further development to eventually use in a debate case.
I love when you can immediately use these tools in your classrooms and share the positive results with your classmates. Your ideas for using this for responses will be awesome. Developing specific questions and asking for more details to support their opinions after they are familliar would be a great way to develop quailty speaking skills.
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