* Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
* Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.
4. Technology communications tools
* Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences.
* Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences.
True, it is a tool, and I have no problem seeing it as a useful tool for educators, but if I were to play devil's advocate for a moment a hammer and a blow torch are also useful tools, but do they raise achievement? I suppose from my current position, I see the global perspective relatively well and could utilize VoiceThread or Furl, or ....? if I were the teacher I was trying to motivate, but when time is at a minimum and teachers are looking to me for raised achievement and measurable increases, I have a harder time telling them that some tools are the best, safest for k-6 students to utilize online, and the most efficient tools for them to educate their classes. NETS are a great perspective to use and are often overlooked. I suppose I have enough information on VoiceThread.
How about looking at Voice Thread as the tool to build oral language and fluency in speaking. Students can draw a picture of a character from a story that is digitally reproduced, and then talk about the character's traits using descriptive words. As with many of the Web 2.0 tools they are the end product of the integration, not the beginning. You can also do this will setting.
With pictures of shapes they can explain what makes a square a square. Think about how you would like students to respond to questions in class that evoke more than just a yes or no.
Voice Thread is perfect for this. You can even embed it in a website or blog so parents can view it. And yes, this will show improved student achievement.
Just a couple of primary ideas.
Arlene
I am the librarian at an international school in Shanghai, China and am starting to do a collaborative classroom 2.0 project with a kindergarten class. We are going to use Voicethread (voicethread.com) to take pictures of things around our school that have the letter and vowel sounds they are studying, and then kids will add their voices to narrate the photos. I saw a teacher had put a sample of a class who took pics of the ABC's around the school and thought it was great. If you are interested, I'd love to find a way to share them with each other...
Hi Tara, what a good idea you have. I would like to know more about your project. The students I teach are also learning about the alphabet, the sounds and how to read 3 letter words. I think we can do what you are doing in your school.
Tara -
I am the media specialist at a large K-2 school in Trussville, Alabama, USA and have a couple of kindergarten teachers that are interested in your classroom 2.0 project. Our teachers have access to Sharepoint sites where we can create a wiki for all of our interested classes to post their content together. What do you think?
Permalink Reply by Ann on February 6, 2008 at 7:56pm
I'm working with a group on a 100 Days Wiki with a few other schools. Even if you don't contribute, it might be an interesting web site to share with your students.
Ann, this looks great. I'll be checking first thing tomorrow to see if we can get your site at school. If we do I'll try to get some of our Kdg teachers involved. Thanks for sharing.