I recently had the opportunity to learn about a Web 2.0 tool called "VoiceThread." What an awesome tool for educators! It is pretty neat what one can do with VoiceThread. Before I share with you my experience with VoiceThread, let me back up and start at the beginning of my journey. It all started a couple of weeks ago with Tennessee Curriculum Standards, of course! I chose a grade and subject that I wanted to focus in on and jumped in head first! I decided to focus on second grade science. While looking at the standards, I noticed that Interdependence was one of the main standards. When I saw that the Grade Level Expectations and Checks for Understanding included information about animals' habitats, I decided that an excellent location for a virtual field trip that met these standards would be the Tennessee Aquarium. This aquarium is located in my hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. When it comes to curriculum standards, it's all about the alignment! I decided to go on a little field trip of my own to the Tennessee Aquarium to take pictures to use for a virtual field trip for my students. I really enjoy going to the Tennessee Aquarium! This visit was extra fun because I brought two of my close friends along with me who had never been there! WIth the second grade science standards about habitats of animals in mind, we loaded up and headed toward the aquarium, camera in hand! I had a great time taking my pictures for my virtual field trip! I had not visited the aquarium in years, and I had forgotten how wonderful it is!
Once I had plenty of pictures to use for a virtual field trip, I narrowed it down to some of my favorites and saved them in digital format. Click here to view these pictures. Then, it was time to learn about the Web 2.0 tool "VoiceThread." VoiceThread is a media album online that can hold different types of media, including images, documents, and videos. VoiceThread allows people to view the media and make comments in a variety of ways. People can leave a comment using voice, text, audio file, or video. VoiceThread allows people to participate in a group conversation. I then began to research how educators use this neat tool in the classroom. It did not take me long to learn about the variety of classroom uses for VoiceThread! It has become a popular tool for educators who teach all different ages. VoiceThread has a variety of uses in the classroom. For example, teachers can post an image or video and record a question that relates. Students can then answer the question and respond in VoiceThread. Another common use for VoiceThread is digital storytelling. VoiceThread is very user-friendly, even for young students. There are so many great things that teachers can do with a VoiceThread as a teaching tool. Once I created my own VoiceThread account (for free!), I headed over to doppelme.com to create an avatar for my account. This avatar, which I must say looks exactly like me, appears on the side of my VoiceThread. When someone leaves a comment on my VoiceThread, his/her avatar or picture will show up on the side.
Once I had learned a little bit about VoiceThread, it was time to start closing the gap. The pictures that I took at the Tennessee Aquarium for a virtual field trip would be used in my VoiceThread. As I uploaded the images into a new album on my VoiceThread, I began to realize that VoiceThread is indeed very user-friendly. After the images were uploaded, it was time to make the voiceover and text comments that I wanted to include. This part was surprisingly easy too! With the click of a button, I could begin speaking and it would save for the image I had chosen. I then had the opportunity to listen to the voiceover and either save or delete the comment. This was so nice because it took off the pressure of getting every comment just right the very first time. It was also great how I could record my voice for just one image at a time. This gave me the opportunity to stop and start when I wanted to, and I didn't have to worry about finishing it all at one time. There is also a neat Doodle feature in VoiceThread. This allows you the chance to draw a doodle on an image as you talk about the image. How fun!
The final step of the journey was creating an eQuiz using Google Docs-Form. Once I made my account, it was quick and easy to create an eQuiz! The quiz has five different types of questions. The questions relate to my VoiceThread about animals' habitats. After viewing my VoiceThread, one should be able to correctly answer the questions on my quiz. Once again, it's all about the alignment!
I am so glad that I had the opportunity to learn about so many great teaching tools over the last few weeks! These tools are very user-friendly, both for teachers and students. It is so nice to know a way to create an independent teaching tool for the classroom. Students of all ages will love using VoiceThread!
Below you will find my finished virtual field trip using VoiceThread. After viewing the VoiceThread, click here to see how much you've learned!
Once I had plenty of pictures to use for a virtual field trip, I narrowed it down to some of my favorites and saved them in digital format. Click here to view these pictures. Then, it was time to learn about the Web 2.0 tool "VoiceThread." VoiceThread is a media album online that can hold different types of media, including images, documents, and videos. VoiceThread allows people to view the media and make comments in a variety of ways. People can leave a comment using voice, text, audio file, or video. VoiceThread allows people to participate in a group conversation. I then began to research how educators use this neat tool in the classroom. It did not take me long to learn about the variety of classroom uses for VoiceThread! It has become a popular tool for educators who teach all different ages. VoiceThread has a variety of uses in the classroom. For example, teachers can post an image or video and record a question that relates. Students can then answer the question and respond in VoiceThread. Another common use for VoiceThread is digital storytelling. VoiceThread is very user-friendly, even for young students. There are so many great things that teachers can do with a VoiceThread as a teaching tool. Once I created my own VoiceThread account (for free!), I headed over to doppelme.com to create an avatar for my account. This avatar, which I must say looks exactly like me, appears on the side of my VoiceThread. When someone leaves a comment on my VoiceThread, his/her avatar or picture will show up on the side.
Once I had learned a little bit about VoiceThread, it was time to start closing the gap. The pictures that I took at the Tennessee Aquarium for a virtual field trip would be used in my VoiceThread. As I uploaded the images into a new album on my VoiceThread, I began to realize that VoiceThread is indeed very user-friendly. After the images were uploaded, it was time to make the voiceover and text comments that I wanted to include. This part was surprisingly easy too! With the click of a button, I could begin speaking and it would save for the image I had chosen. I then had the opportunity to listen to the voiceover and either save or delete the comment. This was so nice because it took off the pressure of getting every comment just right the very first time. It was also great how I could record my voice for just one image at a time. This gave me the opportunity to stop and start when I wanted to, and I didn't have to worry about finishing it all at one time. There is also a neat Doodle feature in VoiceThread. This allows you the chance to draw a doodle on an image as you talk about the image. How fun!
The final step of the journey was creating an eQuiz using Google Docs-Form. Once I made my account, it was quick and easy to create an eQuiz! The quiz has five different types of questions. The questions relate to my VoiceThread about animals' habitats. After viewing my VoiceThread, one should be able to correctly answer the questions on my quiz. Once again, it's all about the alignment!
I am so glad that I had the opportunity to learn about so many great teaching tools over the last few weeks! These tools are very user-friendly, both for teachers and students. It is so nice to know a way to create an independent teaching tool for the classroom. Students of all ages will love using VoiceThread!
Below you will find my finished virtual field trip using VoiceThread. After viewing the VoiceThread, click here to see how much you've learned!
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