Writing in the Digital Classroom VoiceThread

Take a moment and share your thinking about this discussion! Any "wow" moments about its use? Any big disadvantages or advantages? Has anyone made plans to use this in the classroom in the next few weeks?  Help us learn from you. Post your thoughts in the comment section....

End of Module 1

This is a reminder that your Pause and Ponder is due midnight Monday.  I hope all is well with everyone.  Please check back with our VoiceThread discussion.  Great conversation in progress. You might want to share this conversation with your colleagues.

Bill

The New Writing

There is no doubt that texting, Facebook, My Space, instant messaging, YouTube, blogging, etc that our students are writing more than they ever have, but not so much in an academic way that is very important to the learning processing. Intrusion of out of school writing interfers in our classrooms when we start seeing LOL, OMG, and the many other writing short cuts appear in formal writing in our classrooms. No doubt, creating text as a form of literacy is still as important as it was 30 years ago and it probably more important. We struggle with how to bridge what happening on social media and networking inside the classroom.

It is important we find ways to teaching writing in a way that makes use of the new tools that effectively scaffold writing, and yet not adopt every kind of technology because it exists.  We need to look reflectively as our present reading and writing process model and figure out how to incorperate useful technologies into that model. As we have discussed when we were face to face, we only need to know and understand the tools benefits, limitations, advantages, and disadvantages as we prescribe that tool with the learner. We need to come familiar with the tools but we don't have to be the expert. Perhaps we need to know how the tool might fit the learners learning style.

I have an Iphone and the applications I have on my Iphone are unique tools that fit me.  The voice recorder, the Ipadio app, to do list, calendar, and camera are unique for me.  And I know there are literally hundreds more out their that are similar.

One question was asked earlier this week! There are so many tools I cannot decide which one to introduce or use in my classroom this year.  I don't know how to make the technologies fit in my classroom. Here is what I believe- I think a good starting point is Voice Thread.  If I were a science teacher that does lots of hands on experiments, I would get students to take take pictures of the learning process during the experiment. Then dump the pictures into a VoiceThread and put them in a logistical order. Then have student use the VoiceThread to make comments about each step, narrate the  experiment, tell what they know, summarize, and share with a larger audiences.  

Please take a moment to share in the comment section about how you would use VoiceThread or how you plan to use VoiceThread in your content area?

Bill

Embedding with Ipadio

"Module 1" Due August 29th

Readings- The Digital Writing Workshop, Read chapters 1-4

Discussion- Participate in the Voice Thread Discussion for Chapters 1-4..You must make 2 initial contributions and then respond to at least 2 other people.  Note- your first to contributions must be done by August 13.  Then do your follow up response between Aug. 12- August 27th.

Link to Voice Thread Discussion at http://voicethread.com/share/1259276/

Action:
Write three reflective blog post. One of the three blog post may be a digital story that is uploaded to YouTube and embedded into your blog. You may choose to do one or more blog post using Ipadio.  You may choose to use a VoiceThread as a blog post. One of the three blog post must be related to what you are reading and learning from the Troy Hicks book.

First post due before August 6.
Second due before August 15.
Third due by August 22.

Read and make at least one comment to each person's post in your group.

Continue to read and follow at least three other bloggers outside our class.

Pause and Ponder due Midnight August 29. Please email it to me as an attachment to wcgaskins.59@gmail.com.

1. What are the key points in your reading? (book, maybe blog posts)
2. Based on your experience as an educator, how can you apply content from this reading to your classroom and teaching?
3. What new insight did you gain from all that you have learned?
4. How has class discussion (VoiceThread) influenced your thinking?

Welcome to the world of blogging and learning.

VoiceThread Discussion for the Troy Hicks Book- A Digital Writing Workshop

Link to VoiceThread- http://voicethread.com/share/1259276/

Troy Hicks- Author of The Digital Writing Workshop