Enter VoiceThread. As you may remember from our brief class discussion on it, VoiceThread is a free program that allows a teacher to post a picture, video, or audio file, and have students respond to it with comments.I recently tried this with my 8th graders learning the future tense. I posted a question in French, which asked "What are you going to do over April vacation?" and students had to respond with a sentence in the future tense, such as "I'm going to travel to Florida with my family" or "I'm going to go out with friends." Below is a screen shot of what this looked like when I tried it with my students. The picture in the upper left-hand corner is my question, and each block with a symbol is a student's response. The picture I used in the center was just to give them a clue about what the question was asking, but you can also make the photo (rather than your own comment) the central focus. For example, when my students start past tense, I plan to post a picture of a scene and ask them to describe what happened. Listen below to hear my question and the students' responses!
One of the coolest things about the program is that there are several options for how students can post a comment. The easiest one is to click "record" and use a microphone, but several of my students said they did not have one at home. Another option is a to click the video camera and record a video response using a webcam. A third (and the coolest) option is to click the telephone button on the left. Students can enter their phone number and have VoiceThread call them! When they pick up, an automated voice says "Hi there! This is VoiceThread. Leave your comment at the tone, and when you're done, hang up." (or something like that). I tried it and it worked perfectly. How cool is that?! Students can also type a response, but since I was using this program to assess speaking I did not allow them to use this option.
While I think the program in general is basically the best thing since sliced baguettes, the free version does have quite a bit of limitations. I was told upon signing up that I would be limited as to how many posts I could make, but had no limit on how many I could comment on. I plan on getting around this by using my many e-mail addresses to create posts ;) The problem that upset me the most upon trying it out with students was that each free account (which is what my students each signed up for) was only allowed 3 minutes of comments via telephone. Because I didn't realize this right away and couldn't warn them ahead of time, some students recorded themselves, didn't like how they sounded or messed up their pronunciation, hung up and recorded it again. Several used up all 3 of their minutes on their first try :( My department chair is looking into purchasing the school license for next school year, which comes with 60 minutes to distribute amongst your students (still not a lot, right?? I actually e-mailed to complain). Despite its limitations, I still think this is worth trying. It can really be applied to all subject areas, and is great for kids who struggle with writing/handwriting, or are nervous speaking in front of the class. What do you think?
This is a wonderful tool for learning about World Languages and I am going to share your blog post with the members of our language department. I guess the days of the old language lab are long gone. Thanks for posting about this.
ReplyDeleteMy department chair has been trying for years to get a language lab, however it's an expensive project and we're not confident it's going to happen anytime soon. This is a great alternative while we wait :)
ReplyDeleteIf your school gets an account, make sure others know. We found out recently that one school system had a subscription, but a teacher only found out when she inquired. It is a good idea to make teachers aware of the subscription, so the school or school system knows students and teachers are benefiting, and, thus, the payment for the following year is more likely. In the end, the price is worth it if people are using the subscription. As you well know, I am a huge fan of VoiceThread, and the telephone option is a great addition. Thank you for sharing. This tool works well with all ages and in multiple disciplines.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to use Voice Thread for my literacy project, so I'm so glad to hear that you've found success with it. I do have a few questions:
ReplyDelete1) It sounds like each of your students set-up their own account, as opposed to going in under your name. Is that correct? I have an educator's account, so I think it might be easier for my little guys to just use my account, instead of trying to remember their passwords.
2) Did you send all of your students an email to your Voice Thread link? I'm still confused with how to best share the Voice Thread when I ask students to start commenting.
3) When you mentioned that Voice Thread can "call" students, does this mean they receive a call on their land line and can then narrate their work? If so, that's ingenious!
Thanks for all of the great information!
Andrea
Hi Andrea,
ReplyDeleteI'll do my best to answer your questions:
1) The only problem with having students use one account is that when they post, all the posts will come up as your name. I have 50 students, so it would have been impossible to tell who was leaving what comments. If you had your students start by saying their name perhaps you could get around it? Since my school has Google Apps for Education, my students all have a Google Drive "e-mail address" (they can't actually use Gmail, but it looks like an email address so the website accepted it)
2) The way I shared the link with students is through my school website, which my students are all familiar with and know how to access. If you don't already use a website, perhaps that can be your project in class on Wednesday?
3) Yes, Voice Thread gives them a call on their landline or cell phone and students can speak. Be aware, though, that when using a free account students only have 3 minutes to do this, and even on a paid school account the minutes are limited. I would look into which students have a microphone at home first.
I think it has great potential for also getting students past public speaking. Having them recording only their voices, in a mostly private setting to start, and listening to each other without paying attention to physical appearance can give focused feedback. Awesome use for World Language assessment! Well done!
ReplyDelete