Final Thoughts, Final Tools

Over the summer I had the opportunity to go to Missouri’s Distance Learning conference where Wesley Fryer presented several sessions about Web 2.0 tools; he specifically introduced me to two ideas that can easily enhance classrooms: Voice Threads, a site designed to help educators publish pictures and videos while incorporating sound and a story in five frames—a group on Flicr. After watching a video on Voice Thread, people can leave their voice comments on it which makes the experience completely interactive and engages students to do well because of the potential audience. A story in five frames is just what it sounds like—a group of five pictures that tell a story from beginning to end. The interesting thing about both of these is the capabilities they have to bring a new dimension to student learning.

In yearbook, a concept I truly struggle with is getting students to see the importance of the shot—understanding that the pictures they take need to do more than be clear—they actually need to say something. The story in five frames can truly help them to find a story in pictutres. Fryer talked about making his first voice thread after creating a story in five pictures. The five pictures were his youngest daughter's hair cut, and the voice thread shows those picturs and the three year old narrates them.

Voice Thread takes home movies to a new level. Educators can utlize voice thread in several ways. One way is to post a picture of a concept or idea a class has been learning, and then having the class comment on the item, and publishing that so that parents, communitiy members, and others can comment on the concept and on the students' perspectives. Voice thread allows students pictures to be posted as drawings instead of their actual pictures to promote safety and secure Internet experiences. In the Spring, when the freshmen class reads To Kill a Mockingbird, I plan on using Voice Thread to track their ideas of the book, and of the characters as we go along. Also, instead of completing a powerpoint, students could complete a Voice Thread.