Kellany



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REFLECTIONS:

I enjoyed using Voicethread. It took a lot of experimenting to figure it all out, but once I had a basic working knowledge of the project, I was able to start creating my story. My biggest complaint about the program in general is that I found the website to be very unreliable. I tried to load the site for two days before I finally got it to load up on my computer, and even now, after I managed to complete my Voicethread, I still have trouble with the site. I think using this kind of technology would be a fun classroom, but I worry about the timing, especially since the site seemed glitchy. Glitches aside, though, I would love to use this technology in my classroom to spice up projects and develop technological literacy.

Voicethread technology would be a great addition to any class assignment, especially one that requires a presentation element or final product. Though we did stories, and I liked using Voicethread for stories very much, I can see endless possibilities. Voicethread could be used for creative projects or even as a substitution for the traditional PowerPoint presentation research project. As a story publishing method, though, I can see Voicethread being really useful to motivate students to write and enjoy writing, even in content areas. Students could bring a concept through the entire writing process with a promise--if they work really hard to create a good final product, the publishing could be done through Voicethread. Then, the students have gone through the entire, traditional writing process, but they still get to learn and use twenty first century skills and be technologically literate.

Besides just technological literacy, using a voice recording program requires students to be able to read aloud well and to have a good command of their spoken voices. They must speak clearly and at a good pace, not too fast or slow. Animating their voices would require students to consciously think about the sound and quality of each emotion, of how to make their words count. Students can also play back their Voicethreads for immediate feedback on how well their narration sounds. For younger students, listening in on a recording would be a great way to test reading fluency. For shy students, working on a Voicethread could give them a chance to become confident with themselves and their voice before throwing them up in front of a class. Older students could make much more advanced and longer Voicethreads with sound clips and video.

Personally, I enjoyed using Voicethread. I love to read stories aloud. I don't often create voices for the characters that I read, though. Instead, I enjoy putting emotion and feeling into the words, trying to read them off the page into something more than just words, but a story. Perhaps you could say that I like to read prose aloud almost like poetry. This Voicethread project had me nervous, because I had never used the technology before, and since I wanted to have a little help with the voices, I didn't have a lot of time to practice with it. In the end, I had a blast making my story come to life, and I only wish that I had taken the time to really get to know the program, perhaps creating voice icons for each piece, instead of using the same icon for each narration. In any case, the story itself sounds great, the pictures look great, and I love having the same story published two different ways, as a hardback book and Voicethread.