So I have finally used a Web 2.0 tool in my classroom that has worked well! I am so excited to share our use of Voice Thread and how we are planning to use it in the future. I decided to use Voice Thread as a means of a pre-assessment to begin our unit on Westward Expansion. My students have had a really difficult time reflecting at the end of a unit on what they have learned. So to help with this problem I decided to ask my students five questions about westward expansion and had them answer using Voice Thread. We are going to answer the same questions three weeks into our unit and again at the end of the unit. Then my students will go back and hear their initial responses and compare them to their last ones. Hopefully this will allow them to hear what they have actually learned. The next obstical we will have to overcome is how to get those vocal ideas down on paper...
After using Voice Thread and seeing how easy it was for my students to grasp the tool, I have been inspired to continue using this tool and exploring others. I did face a few challenges using this tool (like having to pay to get the students to upload their comments instead of having them comment directly through the microphone and the file sizes being too large), but I used them as a learning experience that will help me do the next project better. Does anyone have any other tools they have used successfully with younger students? If so, what type of projects did you do with them? I am so ready to try other things now!
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