I love VoiceThread! Looking at our classroom wiki you will find many examples of my class using this application. Why do I love it? It's so easy to use! Just last night, I set up a VT for both 3rd grade classes featuring our state reports. I earlier had taken digital photos of their posters and then uploaded them to each classes' VT. I put in an opening slide and I announced the VT. I have a wonderful mic which I bought for $30 from Best Buy. It's a Logitech USB microphone. The kids love the look of this microphone too. They think it looks so professional. It's actually a pretty good microphone. My students have to be rather still and can't rustle their papers because the mic will pick it up.??
Today came the time for recording their voice. When I first started using VT, 2 years ago, I would record the students during my plan time, while they were in computer class. It would take me at least 3 weeks to record their comments, recording 3 students at a time. This had to stop! Even though I loved doing this with my students and loved the results, I got behind in my planning and correcting. My attitude has shifted. I realized that making a perfect VT but having a teacher who was always behind just wasn't worth it. I now realize that the little desk chair squeaks, the random coughing and sneezes is just part of the 3rd grade scene. So today we recorded during class. I was able to record half of the students during our 45 minute class time. Last week we had written our script, so they were ready. While they waited for their turn, I passed out a black line master of the United States. The assignment was to color each state that they have visited. This turned out to be the perfect activity while their waited for their turn.??
So far this year, I've used VT in Our Monster in a Jar descriptive paragraphs and our Thomas Alva Edison inventions. I plan on using it again when we celebrate Poem in Your Pocket day in April. I'm really grateful for this low cast application and encourage my fellow educators to jump in and give it a try!??
join the conversation