How I Came to Un-dread the Voicethread

This quarter, my classmates have impressed me with their knowledge and command of current technological innovations. What has been particularly thrilling is the usefulness of these applications. Our forward-thinking instructor, Dr. Darci Harland, introduced the course using a program I had never seen before. It was a slide presentation accompanied by the teacher’s voice and a pop-up window that presented the text of what was spoken.

“What a great way to present information,” I thought. “How neat that our teacher did that!” And then, one dark week, the professor urged us all to make a Voicethread of our own. Impossible. It might be hard!

Dr. Darci provided us with – of course – another voicethread giving us step-by-step instructions.

Hmmmm…make a PowerPoint^TM and then save the slides as jpeg files. We can save PowerPoint slides as jpeg files? Very useful information! I must admit that the process seemed a tiny bit complicated. I saved my slides halfway through and it stored them as individual jpeg files. Then I didn’t know if I could add more slides to that file so I continued on the regular PowerPoint and ended up with about four separate saved copies that I had to keep straight.

I created an account with Voicethread, and immediately began uploading my slides. Simple! Then I recorded my script. I don’t have a headset microphone, so sometimes I sounded a bit loud – I tend to be highly critical of what I sound like – but again, the process was easy. I forgot to type in the script and had to add it later. For some reason, I could not copy and paste from a Word document so I had to re-type my words – Hello! IT people? Was it something I said?

All in all, I really had a lot of fun making my first voicethread. After making my second, I realized these little slideshows could be quite addictive… the possibilities were limitless…

References

http://emmiepeace.edublogs.org/files/2011/03/32126-Clipart-Illustration-Of-An-Expressive-Yellow-Smiley-Face-Emoticon-With-One-Big-Eye-Stressed-Out-Or-Nervous-1eglcri.jpg

http://images.firstcovers.com/covers/flash/t/to_infinity_and_beyond-1585762.jpg?i

http://synergiseducation.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/VoiceThread_image.jpg

https://voicethread.com

Blogging, Blogging, Blogging – Keep those fingers typin’ (New Rawhide lyrics)

         While I am not new to blogging, I am new to blogging consistently. This course has pushed me beyond class discussion boards and scholarly journals to the realm of application in laymen’s terms. I found the process of setting up my blog on blogger.com (I cannot make that a live link! It goes straight to my Google login site) to be fairly simple. I like the fact that it is FREE. I found several other blogging sites that actually charge a fee. I have not taken the time to compare and contrast benefits and drawbacks, but I am very satisfied with the free service.

         The experience also pushed me to read my classmates’ blogs and enjoy the wealth of information presented in a user-friendly format. On the blogger.com site, I have the opportunity to follow fellow bloggers and read them all in one place. For the busy student (busy parent, busy human being, etc.) that is a nifty option. Incidentally, I discovered my stepmother’s blogs and added hers to those I follow. She decided to try her hand at painting a few years ago and her talent is amazing so it is fun to see some of her work. She does occasionally mention my dear old dad, which is an added bonus.

         Blogging has also made me more sensitive to and aware of blogs that I see on Facebook or when doing research.

For example, I recently watched a video in a webinar series that talked about “mindfulness” – a buzzword if there ever was one. As part of the ongoing research to teach children mindfulness as it is manifested in self-control and empathy, two video games are being released. Tenacity and Crystals of Kaydor serve unique purposes according to an Education Week blog. Tenacity uses awareness of one’s own breathing to teach concentration and Crystals of Kaydor focuses on players’ responses to the emotional countenances of game figures. This particular game helps rewire brains to be more empathetic - an extremely useful goal for our students.

         

References

Blog image. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Blogs&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=5594F7AE00D7FE7FCE98B89673D6F36054510EF5&selectedIndex=2

Researchers see video games as testing, learning, tools. (2013) Education Week, 32(37), 14-15.