Using Voicethread fo the Classroom

This weeks assignment was about using Voicethread and learning how to create my own assignments for a potential ESL class that I would teach. For example I chose to do an assignment for a 9th grade ESL class. I started off by giving instructions on how to leave a comment on the Voicethread and also what the assignment was about. I decided to start off everyone by introducing themselves, where they're from, how long they've been in the united states, what languages they speak, and if they have visited any places or have wanted to visit any place in the world. I wanted to keep it direct and simple and have the students enjoy the time of learning about each other and practice their speaking skills along the way. I didn't really have any problems creating a voicethread, although I did have to record several times just because I didn't really like how it sounded before! Voicethread is a forum for students and teachers to create and have discussions based on assignments and specific topics given out in class, it lets anyone the ability to record comments through video, voice, or writing. It also gives the creator of a thread to post videos or images. I think it's also an opportunity for teachers and students to create a digital story with having feedback from their peers.

 I had the chance to visit two of my classmates voicethreads Alicia's and Jinsoo's. Alicia's thread was an interesting topic to use for an ESL classroom to get students to describe their differences and similarities of their schools and learning experience with their own countries and the u.s. I have had some personal experience with that when I was younger before moving to the united states and found the experience to be valuable. I thing it's a great way to get students to learn about each others experiences in education and also for teachers since it might get them some insight on a students learning background. Jinsoo's was also a great way to engage students in expressing their opinions on a story. It is a great way to get a class to have a particular discussion on language and learning. So far, I've enjoyed this weeks in depth experience with voicethread. I would definitly use it in my own classrooms one day, its an easy way to create an assignments based of students interests and get them to have a fun learning experience.

Bookr

So, I've decided to use Bookr to create my short story. Bookr is a platform where anyone can create a story book using images through Flickr. I based it off my hedgehog named Henry and his activities of the day and his favorite things. The reason I decided to create this type of story based on a hedgehogs day is to make it easy and simple for younger students or L2 learners to be able to enjoy it. It might be able to give them some confidence in being able to create their own stories based on their interests. One of the things I liked about the idea of bookr is to be able to get a group of students together to work on a project and collaborate on creating a story. It is also a great way to be able to get L2 learners to practice on creating sentences by creating stories out of the images that they choose. While using bookr I thought that it was relatively easy to use and create a story and thought that students would really enjoy the process of being able to create and publish their own stories. With using technology tools in a classroom I always prefer for it to be simple to use for students, since I don't want them to feel overwhelmed or turned off by any assignments that include tools like flickr, bookr, blogging etc. I think this would engage students and motivate them to work on using their imagination and even practice on their vocabulary, reading and their writing skills.

Digital Storytelling in Education

Digital Learning Network, a photo by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on Flickr.
 

 Digital Storytelling is a gateway for students and teachers to be able to tell stories through images, text, and videos. According to 7 things you should know about digital story telling "Can be instructional, persuasive, historical, or reflective. The resources available to incorporate into digital story are virtually limitless, giving the storyteller enormous creative latitude." For example a great site that is a platform for digital story use if Flickr which gives you the ability to upload images and videos as well as search them in order to be able to post images in a blog. Flickr gives anyone member the ability to organize photos and videos so that they are easier to find. I think that with Flickr there are endless ways to be able to create and give students assignments. I definitely see myself using it in my own classrooms in the future, especially for second language learners. I've thought of giving students a chance to introduce themselves and tell a story about it a way to break get students to know each other better through the images that they share. It's also a great way to get students in groups and collaborate on a project. I see how important of a tool digital storytelling can be for anyone. It gets them involved in thinking about their environment and the the knowledge that they receive and share with others. Overall its a great way to engage students and teachers to use their imagination and be creative with their process of learning.