Thing #19: Voicing an Opinion on VoiceThread

Okay, I was skeptical about how I would feel about this particular tool. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find some great ideas and uses for the tool as I watched the assigned VoiceThread and explored some of the suggested created Voicethreads. Some of the uses I could just flick my wrist at, but I found myself really liking the last suggestion on the list, the "Library from A to Z" VoiceThread. After watching it, I came up with three similar ideas for use in my own classroom.

• In Yearbook, I could have the students create a presentation for the next year's staff as their final project, showing them page-by-page the different departments they created that year. Not only would it be good for ideas next year as an intro, it would also be good for the class to reflect on their work.
• In ESL, I could have my beginner-intermediate students create a VoiceThread with the vocabulary they are learning on a weekly basis. This wouldn't be a huge project for them, more an on-going one that they could work on during times when their newcomer status excludes them from traditional curriculum or testing.
• For all of my 6th graders, instead of making a poetry memory book out of paper, the students could create a digital presentation in groups where they would read the poems aloud and scan in pictures, illustrations, etc. This would be a better alternative to last year, because it gives them the opportunity to practice their speaking while getting multiple attempts to get it right. Less pressure = more success for my reluctant speakers.

Overall, I'm excited to use this tool, and creating a VoiceThread educator account is at the top of my list for when we come back from vacation.