Teaching my Teammates about Voice Thread

Description: I taught my first grade teammates about Voice Thread.

Standards: TF - II.D, E, F (Planning and Designing Environments and Experiences)

Semester:  Spring 2011

Hours: 1 hour

Population: First Grade Teachers

Reflection: When I first learned about Voice Thread I was so excited about all the possible uses we could have for it.  I feel that it is specifically effective for first grade students since they can very easily use their voice since typing is not a great option for them.  I showed my teammates how we had used the tool in our grad classes and then showed them examples of how we could use it based on examples from the Voice Thread site.  We decided we could use it to see what students had learned about the historical figures we learn about.  It can be a great tool of reflection in Science and Social Studies.  Then I discovered that it can be a great way to teach students reading fluency and reading with a voice. I showed my teachers most recently how my students used Voice Thread to read their advice they had written to kindergarten students about what they should know before coming to first grade.  The finished product was better than I expected.  Some of my teammates are planning to use Voice Thread in their classes now.

Thing 2 - Giving Everyone a Voice

I can not even express how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE the grad program I am in.  Seriously!  One of the reasons I am so excited at the moment is because of a new tech tool I just learned about called "Voice Thread" (www.voicethread.com).  After being introduced and reading through all the info and tutorials I had to show it off to someone, and my husband was the lucky one since he was the only one around.  I thought his explanation of it was pretty good when he said,"it's kind of like a blog you can hear".

Voice Thread allows you the ability to upload pictures, text, and videos.  It then allows you the ability to record your voice to go along with what you have uploaded.  The coolest feature is when several people log in and respond to the same picture, text, videos.  Our professor made a slide and then all the people in class logged in to that same slide and recorded reflections.  You can also text your ideas and opinions, but that was pretty common.  

While browsing the site, I found one made by a second grade student who used the story of the three little pigs.  She served as the narrator and she had someone else read the parts of the pigs.  I thought this would be so much fun for my first graders.  I think having them come up with a story and then drawing pictures to be uploaded would really add to the authenticity of the project.  Adding their voices as characters in the story for a Reader's Theater type assignment would really get them involved.  I also found a presentation with an addition number sentence and three students were sharing the different ways they solved the problem. This was great because they all got the correct answer, but had different strategies to find the solution.  This would be very inspiring for my little ones to see and then participate in for themselves.  Right now we are studying about Harriet Tubman and I think it would be neat to have each of them share their thoughts and feelings about her experience and bravery.  The ideas are really flowing and I could go on and on. 

I love that Voice Thread can give my first graders a chance to participate in something pretty high tech without having to type.  They are learning keyboarding skills, but the pecking at the keyboard takes quite a while when a lot of words is necessary, plus the inventive spelling may be hard to understand unless you are seasoned in reading it.  This will allow them to respond in their own voice.  I can't wait to try it.

I did check it out at school, and thankfully, it is not a blocked site.  I  know we do not have headphones with microphones at school, so I need to take my one set or find another way to accommodate the recordings.  Also, someone mentioned that only 3 people are allowed to respond unless you have a paid account, so I'll need to check that out as well.