Hi Tim, I love the idea of using Animoto to make digital field trips for students. You are definitely right about the importance of visuals, especially things like primary documents, in teaching history. I was wondering, have you ever used the Google Cultural Institute? (link here: https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/u/0/). It's a Google service that provides, among other things, virtual tours of major cultural institutions. This includes many museums around the world, natural phenomena, and historical sites. I would recommend checking it out!
As for Animoto, I agree that it might not be worth investing too much money into. As cool as it is, it seems like there are many other services that can accomplish similar things and don't require a paid subscription. We're seeing a lot of other examples just through the rest of the class's MDMCs
I think that your screencast of Vocaroo was really comprehensive and informative. I also loved the many ideas that you had of how to use this tool in your future classroom! Because this tool is extremely user friendly (and free), I feel like it would be a great way to integrate technology (multimedia) in the curriculum. As an aspiring Elementary educator, I could definitely see myself using this program to add audio on my future teacher webpage as well as possibly introduce this to my students as a "gateway" program to multimedia creation. Thanks for sharing!
I really enjoyed watching your screencast, I use Animoto and I'm very familiar with it, but I had never heard of Vocaroo or Aviary Photo Editor, which both seemed very easy to use. As I watched the Vocaroo screencast, I immediately thought of teachers creating audios of books for struggling readers at a listening station. I remember when I used to teach reading, there weren't that many books on audio and by the time I became an administrator there were much more in iTunes but they were not free. Using Vocaroo allows teachers to create an audio of any book in their library especially for ones where audio versions don't exist. I also liked how simple it is to use especially for students who could also record audios either in class or at home. Often kids are reading in their head but using this feature allows them to read aloud, giving them more fluency practice which is so important.
Hi Timothy, I like your idea of a virtual field trip! Its so engaging and interesting. I thought it would best be used for students presentations but your use of Animoto is very interesting. I think that one of the cons were the payments. I also experienced the same issues where users had to pay. I think that if there was an alternative website or a free account for teachers I would use this more often. Students have the ability to add text and use their own images so perhaps you can even have them create their own virtual tours for them to share with each other. They can also create presentations for a focal point that they are studying
Tim--Thanks for your post on Vocaroo. First, this is probably the easiest program out there for audio recording. However, there doesn't allow for editing. From what I see with this program, it would appear that if you make a mistake with the recording, you would have to go back and either delete the one with errors, or start over.
You are right. You could use this program to provide extra help. One way would be by going over guided notes or provide audio instructions for an assignment if a student was absent or such. I didn't like how the site doesn't provide much direction from the start page. Many students could find that confusing. So you are correct in saying providing a direction sheet would be necessary for the student. Thanks for the video.
Thank you for your still media critique on Aviary. I have never used the program, but based off of your tutorial it seems fairly simple. I definitely think it is a good program for educators to become acquainted with for the simple reason that you mention. Students get bored in class when they are just sitting and listening to a teacher talk. Adding vibrant photos could get them to focus better on the lecture and the material you are trying to teach them. This is something simple that most teachers should be able to master and even pass their knowledge on to students who can use this program for their own presentations.
Hi Tim, I love the idea of using Animoto to make digital field trips for students. You are definitely right about the importance of visuals, especially things like primary documents, in teaching history. I was wondering, have you ever used the Google Cultural Institute? (link here: https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/u/0/). It's a Google service that provides, among other things, virtual tours of major cultural institutions. This includes many museums around the world, natural phenomena, and historical sites. I would recommend checking it out!
ReplyDeleteAs for Animoto, I agree that it might not be worth investing too much money into. As cool as it is, it seems like there are many other services that can accomplish similar things and don't require a paid subscription. We're seeing a lot of other examples just through the rest of the class's MDMCs
Hi Tim!
ReplyDeleteI think that your screencast of Vocaroo was really comprehensive and informative. I also loved the many ideas that you had of how to use this tool in your future classroom! Because this tool is extremely user friendly (and free), I feel like it would be a great way to integrate technology (multimedia) in the curriculum. As an aspiring Elementary educator, I could definitely see myself using this program to add audio on my future teacher webpage as well as possibly introduce this to my students as a "gateway" program to multimedia creation. Thanks for sharing!
HI Timothy,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed watching your screencast, I use Animoto and I'm very familiar with it, but I had never heard of Vocaroo or Aviary Photo Editor, which both seemed very easy to use. As I watched the Vocaroo screencast, I immediately thought of teachers creating audios of books for struggling readers at a listening station. I remember when I used to teach reading, there weren't that many books on audio and by the time I became an administrator there were much more in iTunes but they were not free. Using Vocaroo allows teachers to create an audio of any book in their library especially for ones where audio versions don't exist. I also liked how simple it is to use especially for students who could also record audios either in class or at home. Often kids are reading in their head but using this feature allows them to read aloud, giving them more fluency practice which is so important.
Thank you for sharing,
Shon
Hi Timothy, I like your idea of a virtual field trip! Its so engaging and interesting. I thought it would best be used for students presentations but your use of Animoto is very interesting. I think that one of the cons were the payments. I also experienced the same issues where users had to pay. I think that if there was an alternative website or a free account for teachers I would use this more often. Students have the ability to add text and use their own images so perhaps you can even have them create their own virtual tours for them to share with each other. They can also create presentations for a focal point that they are studying
ReplyDeleteTim--Thanks for your post on Vocaroo. First, this is probably the easiest program out there for audio recording. However, there doesn't allow for editing. From what I see with this program, it would appear that if you make a mistake with the recording, you would have to go back and either delete the one with errors, or start over.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. You could use this program to provide extra help. One way would be by going over guided notes or provide audio instructions for an assignment if a student was absent or such. I didn't like how the site doesn't provide much direction from the start page. Many students could find that confusing. So you are correct in saying providing a direction sheet would be necessary for the student. Thanks for the video.
Hi Timothy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your still media critique on Aviary. I have never used the program, but based off of your tutorial it seems fairly simple. I definitely think it is a good program for educators to become acquainted with for the simple reason that you mention. Students get bored in class when they are just sitting and listening to a teacher talk. Adding vibrant photos could get them to focus better on the lecture and the material you are trying to teach them. This is something simple that most teachers should be able to master and even pass their knowledge on to students who can use this program for their own presentations.