As I first looked at Voice Thread I thought to myself, well that looks really cool, but it will probably be very time-consuming, and I won't be able to use it with my students who visit me each week in the media center since my teachers are on such a tight schedule, and I am only permitted to have them for 30 minutes most visits. However, once I started to play around with it, and I watched the tutorials, I realized just how easy it truly was going to be. I had planned to work with my students on a character lesson in the lower grades and knew that they would not be able to write anything for me, so having this tool was ideal since they could respond to my prompt verbally or in drawings and I could type in their comments. The students were so excited to hear the voices on the Voice Thread, and even though I could not get to all of my kindergarten and first grade children, the teachers assured me that they would be using the tool in their own classrooms. I felt that I had made a homerun with both my students and teachers. You see, in my elementary school the teachers look to me for new methods of delivering content, or engaging their students. Even though I am not a curriculum specialist, I suppose I serve in that capacity as well as that of the media specialist. They realize that I love to share my ideas and learn from each of them as well. Collaboration is so important, and I could see this tool being something that teams of teachers could use as a collaborative resource or to communicate with their parents as well as utilizing it with their students. Voice Thread will remain in my instructional toolbox for a long time to come.
1 comment:
Kelly, I really enjoyed your Voice Thread. We always tell our students that they are special, but this is a great way for them to have them speak about what makes them special. It is always important that students or anyone in general is aware of their special qualities.
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