The future with VoiceThread

I am going to be approaching this week's topic of "What's next?" from the perspective of a classroom teacher rather than a teacher librarian, so my take on how to introduce a tool to staff may differ from what t-l's might do.

I have already begun the process of introducing VoiceThread to my students and the teachers in my department areas. I am absolutely thrilled with it and its possibilities. I have just started a project with my students who are using it as a means to present their findings on a First Nations tribe in North America; if you are interested, you can check the project out here. My students are very receptive to it, and I am really looking forward to seeing their finished projects on Thursday. As for introducing the staff to this great collaborative tool, the process began a few weeks ago with me talking to the social studies department head one Friday after school and showing him my first voicethread. He, in turn, was quite interested in it and went home and played with it all weekend. On Monday morning he came to me bubbling over with enthusiasm for it, saying that he wanted to introduce it at the next department meeting on the following Thursday. Of course I was thrilled to have someone else interested in a web 2.0 tool, because so far I've been the only one in both of my departments to even know what these are, and to be honest, at times this has been frustrating because I have no one to bounce lesson ideas off of, or to share queries or concerns with.

The S.S. department meeting went without a hitch and the other members were excited about it, but without the opportunity or time to practice and use it, I didn't think that too many of them were going to integrate it into their teaching unless they had some encouragement and help from me.

I recently saw the opportunity to use voicethread in my Social Studies 9 class, so I recruited my department head, and we spent an afternoon together working out the logistics/details. When I booked computer lab time, I went one step further and invited him, as well as another member of our department to participate in the lab blocks. This was partly a selfish move on my part in that not only did I have a couple of extra bodies to help students set up their voicethreads, but I also figured it would cement their learning and interest in this tool. I was right, because not only is my department head now hooked, but so is the other teacher, and she has had an opportunity to see it in action without having to go through the frustrations of figuring out how to use it all on her own. She was going to go home this weekend with the intention of playing with it, and teaching her son how to use it. So I think that the S.S. deptartment is well on its way.

Further to this, once students have finished their voicethreads, I am going to divide my classes into thirds and each group will invite either the vice principal, the grade 9 counsellor or the learning resource teacher to view and comment on their voicethreads. I forewarned these 3 people already on Friday, so hopefully they will play with voicethread over the weekend, but if not, then I will help them with it once the projects are completed on Thursday. In doing this, I hope to introduce people outside of my teaching areas to voicethread. Maybe one of them, or better yet, all three will also see its potential.

As for the English department, at our last meeting I brought up the idea that we should be looking at different Web 2.0 tools which we could use in our classes. I volunteered to share what I have learned, and I am optimistic that others will have some things that they can talk about as well. It was agreed upon that at our next English department pro-d day in February we would all try to come with some technological knowledge to share. Of course I have volunteered to demonstrate voicethread.

After reading the above personal anecdotes about how I am trying to introduce staff members at my school to voicethread, it should be quite clear to you how enthralled I am with this tool, but I am not the only one. The Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies lists Voicethread as one of their top 25 tools that "every Learning Professional should have in their Toolbox," and it is 23rd on their Top 100 Tools for Learning 2008 page. When I checked out the Voicethread 4 Education wiki this week, I learned that Women of Web 2.0 hosted a discussion on November 25 about how voicethread is being used in the classroom. Unfortunately I missed the discussion, and it is not yet posted on their EdTechTalk page, but maybe by the time I post this, it will be there. I am REALLY looking forward to hearing this podcast!!! A helpful resource I found that outlines a step-by-step process for teachers to sign up for voicethread can be found at the Langwitches blog, and I emailed it to the S.S. department head which he will hopefully forward to the rest of the department. I think the main hurdle that some teachers will have to overcome is the intial set up, and this blog helps to simplify this process.

What's the reality of voicethread being successfully integrated into my school?

Pretty good as long as I keep introducing new members of staff to voicethread and its truly collaborative possibilities. I have begun small, but I am hoping that there will be a ripple effect that takes place amongst staff. So far the English and social studies departments have had or will have some exposure. By introducing the VP, counsellor and learning resource teacher to voicethread, they may choose to take it further and share it with other administrators, counsellors, or perhaps other department heads at our school. This may occur naturally because two of them are currently being introduced to voicethread, and I am hoping they will share their knowledge with the others. However, the biggest barrier is ensuring that teachers have enough time to try it out and play with it. I will be able to ensure that this happens in February at the English dept. pro-d, but I will have to be creative to find time for the other S.S. dept. members to get their opportunity to play. Maybe this just means that I need to continue to invite people into my classroom as I am using it with my students. It would be possible for me to offer to do a presentation at a school-based pro-d day so that staff members in all areas have a chance to see this technology in action, but we don't have one of those until May, which right now feels like a long time away. I also think the more exposure students have to voicethread, the more likely they are to use it to support their learning, and they may choose to do a science presentation using this tool which will automatically encourage teachers to at least explore it, even if they aren't using it for lessons.

This is just the beginning, and my school has a long way to go before we are Web 2.0 knowledgeable and friendly, but I have started the process of introducing both students and teachers to some of the great tools available. As a classroom teacher, it is harder to approach large groups of staff unless they are in the departments that I teach in, but I am excited about these tools, and I don't want to be the only one in the school using them. I want other people to be as excited about integrating Web 2.0 tools into the classroom as I am!

Blogs - the "new" pro-d?

"[W]e need to resort to personal recommendation, trusting one individual’s ideas, suggestions or advice because we’ve ‘known’ them online over a long period of time. The longevity of my relationship with some fellow professionals who keep blogs has given me more successful learning opportunities as a teacher than attending some ‘5* status’ conferences." Ewan MacIntosh


Since last January, my professional development has consisted of me working on course work in order to attain a Masters degree in librarianship. This has been a much needed awakening for my brain, and although at times I feel somewhat like Sisyphus, I am enjoying the journey on which I have embarked.

At the beginning of September, I really didn't understand or know what a blog was, nor did I realize that blogs are an amazing resource for professional development. Blogs allow some of the "edublogging greats" to maintain continual communication with bloggers/educators around the world. The ideas and thoughts, as well as explorations of bloggers are easily shared and expanded upon by the blogging community. This is an amazing resource for educators which seems to be largely untapped because many do not know that this collaborative tool and community even exists. Granted, I am generalizing based on my personal experience in talking to teachers in my school, as well as several other schools throughout the province, but I don't think that I am far off the mark. The few times I forwarded blog links which I thought would be of interest to certain staff members, the response I often received was "What am I supposed to do with this link?"

The opportunity to explore this world that I knew nothing about has allowed for an invigorating and thought provoking experience, and I will continue to embrace it once this course is over. It is inevitable that over time, the blogs that I have been following in Bloglines will likely change and the number will increase as I find others that I want to add. But this is a natural evolution as I progress and learn about different educational and technological topics.

In a blog from 2006, Richardson comments on what he read on Karl Fisch's blog: "The latest post on Karl’s blog is a really interesting explanation of a staff development program with real vision, and how blogs have become pretty central to the way he and his teachers reflect on their practice and create community around common goals which were to 'improve teacher and student use of technology, to achieve curricular goals, to help transform our school to a more student-centered, constructivist approach, and to prepare our students to succeed in the 21st century.'” I would have liked to have read more about this process, but unfortunately, I couldn't go that far back in Karl's posts. But this is enough to demonstrate that blogs and blogging can be used effectively as a means of pro-d by a school community.

Not only do blogs provide a means of personal professional development, but they also provide suggestions for promoting professional development. A recent suggestion can be found at the Ideas and Thoughts blog where Dean Shareski tells of how he created a great learning experience for teachers by organizing a time for some of them to get together to view some of the K12 online conference sessions. Shareski creates a meaningful pro-d experience with minimal cost, compared to going to a conference and having to pay hundreds of dollars. This is an excellent idea that I am going to share with my social studies department.

I recently listened to Ewan MacIntosh's podcast which he presented at the 2006 K12 Online Conference. Accompanying the podcast is a blog entitled "Professional Development . . . with fries" and in this MacIntosh explains how "[a]fter a year of promoting the use of social media for professional development [the Modern Foreign Language Educators] now have a burgeoning community of modern linguists and other teaching professionals connecting to each other and sharing their ideas, thoughts, complaints and congrats through complex social networks." What a great accomplishment to have achieved this after only one year.

An interesting video presentation on blogging for professional development, directed mainly at librarians, by John Dupuis can be found here. Dupuis talks about blogging as a means of opening doors and starting conversations, which I believe can allow for some of the most meaningful professional development.

Blogging allows educators to ingest new ideas, as well as contribute to conversations by commenting on blogs. Due to the discussion topic this past week about "finding your voice in the edublogosphere," It was pointed out how important it is to comment on people's blogs in a thoughtful, and meaningful way. This allows for dialogue to occur from many different perspectives, much like going to a conference and conversing with the other members, but perhaps the best part is that the dialogue can be ongoing.

Not only do educators benefit from writing posts and following blogs, but the students also benefit. The vast array of ideas and discussions that are floating around the edublogsphere can only result in more authentic learning environments for students. Opportunities for, and methods of the use of web tools in the classroom are frequently presented. Possibilities for educators to collaborate on student-based projects are more likely to occur, and teachers can share and use lesson ideas and suggestions.

Blogs and blogging for professional development really exemplify the collaborative aspect of the read/write web, and I hope to expose my colleagues to this form of cost-free, ongoing pro-d.

RSS - helping me stay sane!

"Tools like RSS feeds are moving the information experience from “mass media” (few producers of information communicating with a large number of consumers) to “personal media” (many producers of information communicating with a more individualized group of consumers)." Doug Johnson

At the beginning of September, as suggested by Joanne, I signed up with an RSS feed; little did I know how efficient this would be because, "you can read more content from more sources in less time" (Richardson, 76, Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms). At the time, I didn't have a clue what RSS was, or how it could make my life easier, so I began my quest for "RSS knowledge" by reading Richardson's chp. "RSS:The New Killer App for Educators" and of course viewing, what has become a standby for me, Lee Lefever's RSS in Plain English video. What I learned is that instead of me going to find all of the blogs that I need/want to follow in order to see if there is a new post, RSS tells me every time there is new content on the blog. Not only does it tell me that there is something new, but I can actually read that information directly through my feed reader! Marvelous!

As mentioned in my September post, it was Richardson's "tried and true" book that helped me focus in on Bloglines, which has worked amazingly well for me! I check my Bloglines once or twice a week, and I can immediately see when someone has added a blog post, whether it be someone in EDES 501, or one of the other blogs I am trying to follow. However, as of late, I have been thinking about how I can use Bloglines to streamline my following of all of the different places I am creating on the web. I added a feed to my Classroom 2.0 Ning as well as a feed to my voicethread, but I am not sure if that will work the way I want it to. I also added Women of Web 2.0 podcasts - this way, I won't have to check my bookmarks to see if there is a new podcast which is what I have been doing up until now. I feel like my RSS feed is really helping to keep me organized in what seems, at times, to be web 2.0 overload.

I recently checked out Google reader, which is also popular with people using RSS (according to Richardson's blog, he has switched over to this reader as well). I even signed up with it, but at the moment I am comfortable using Bloglines, and to be honest I don't want to mess with something that is working well for me (Unlike Blogger which didn't save this post the first time I tried to post it this morning )-: ). Also, being a minimalist, I prefer the simple straightforward layout of Bloglines versus the busier layout of Google Reader. However, there are many people who have done comparisons of both, and some of the most recent can be found at Library Stuff, ReadWriteWeb, and Pleasure and Pain: Measuring the impact of new technology on human experience, (this blog does the most thorough analysis of both) and after having read these, there is considerable evidence that suggests that Google reader is the RSS of choice.

Why do I like Bloglines?

• I was able to set this up without too much difficulty at a time when I was quite clueless about how to set anything up on the web.
• I can have different folders in order to group the blogs that I am following.
• I was able to add a "subscribe to Bloglines" button to my favorites. This way all I have to do is click on this when I find a blog or site that I would like to add.
• I am able to show my Bloglines feeds on my blog, and, once again, I was able to accomplish this without too much difficulty.
• I can "clip" certain parts of a blog to review later.

How can RSS be used by teachers?

• They can easily and quickly follow students' blogs, which is what I intend to do when my students set their blogs up in December.
• They can use this as a means of professional development by easily following other educator's blogs.
• They can use it to stay on top of current information about topics that are being studied in class. This can be particularly useful for science and social studies teachers.

By Students?

• They can set up a feed reader to help them stay on top of current events.
• They can collect "topic-specific research that . . . [could] assist[] them with research or further study" (Richardson, 81).

I think the key to making RSS work for me is to ensure that I am following a manageable number of feeds, and for the moment, all of these are tied to education; however, several out-of-the-classroom uses can be found at 34 Ways to Use RSS, and 14 "OTHER" Ways to Use RSS.

Social networking - It's not just for students

"People nowadays like to be together not in the old-fashioned way of, say, mingling on the piazza of an Italian Renaissance city, but, instead, huddled together in traffic jams, bus queues, on escalators and so on. It’s a new kind of togetherness which may seem totally alien, but it’s the togetherness of modern technology." - J.G. (James Graham) Ballard

The exploration of social networking sites is the one assignment for EDES 501 that I have been dreading the most. I am one of those (possibly few) people who doesn't want everyone in the world to be able to make contact with me, or know everything about me. I don't want to share information about me, my job or my family on the web; I'd rather share it with people whom I know, or am connecting with by choice, such as people in this course. I don't want my high school students to add me as a "friend" to their social networking sites, and to be honest, the thought of it seems a little odd. I also don't need/want old acquaintances to connect with me through a social networking site just to say that they have one more "friend." If they really need to get a hold of me because they want to visit/reminisce, then they can call my parents to find out where I am. Furthermore, articles such as Faceless no more: Social networking comes with a price, found in the Globe and Mail, Sept. 12, 2008, make me feel very uneasy about putting too much personal information out on the internet. So, for these reasons, I swore that I would never join a social networking site such as Facebook or MySpace, and I procrastinated all fall about becoming a member of one of these sites. (By the way, this didn't help with my negative feelings about this topic (-; )
However, now comes the time when I have to re-evaluate what little I know of these sites. I began my search by checking in with Lee Lefever at Social Networking in Plain English. He manages to simplify the concept, and make it appear beneficial for all involved.

Having done this, I decided that if I was going to join a social networking site, it would be to my advantage if I could find a site that would be useful to me and what I am doing now. So I began my search by finding out what was "out there." Using the keywords "social networking sites" brought up a site called Social Networking God: 350+ Social Networking Sites - who knew that there were soooo many??? I scrolled through these, but there wasn't anything very appealing. So I decided to narrow down my search by adding "educational" to "social networking sites." This is when I stumbled upon the Social Networks in Education wiki which is an extensive list of sites, and Ning in Education. As I was checking out Ning in Education, I discovered its "sister" site Classroom 2.0 - this looked very appealing to me, and I decided to join this Ning because I could connect with people and learn more about Web 2.0 tools being used in classrooms. According to Wikipedia, "[t]he unique feature of Ning is that anyone can create their own custom social network for a particular topic or need, catering to specific audiences." Perfect - this is exactly what I needed!

I created my profile page to reflect me, (I chose a profile that reminds me of summer) and I proceeded to invite my classmates from EDES 501 who had included their email addresses in their profiles, as well as a couple of colleagues from school whom I thought might be interested in exploring and learning about web 2.0 tools. I then joined the Digiskills group and the Free & Open Source Software group - both of these groups' names sounded daunting, but once I explored their spaces, they seemed accessible to me.

What are the positives about joining a social networking site?

For Me Personally:

So far, I am happy that I have joined this Ning, as it doesn't require a great deal of personal information about me, and I am able to connect with people from around the world who have similar interests. I have spent enough time exploring it, that I have managed to figure out how to manoeuver my way through it, and not only that, but I spent hours following links located in a discussion about what web 2.0 tools others are using in the classroom, and how they are using them. This has led me to discover many more great sites such as teacherstv, yackpack, authorSTREAM, Bubbl.us, Quizlet and Gabcast to mention only a few.

For Colleagues:

"Social networking in education opens doors to an unprecedented array of learning opportunities in an environment where educators often feel freer to express themselves, share their ideas and be catalysts for change." PBS Teachers - Learning.now blog

A Ning is a great way for teachers within a district who are teaching the same courses, or who have similar interests to communicate and share ideas. It allows for professional development without having to organize a time and place for people to meet. It could also provide support and opportunities for teachers who are isolated due to geographical reasons to collaborate with other teachers or classes. An example of this could be found in the Digiskills group that I joined, where a U.S. based teacher put out a request for anyone interested in doing some type of collaborative voicethread project with students at his school. There were 5 people who indicated interest, one of whom was from Australia. What a great opportunity for both teachers and students!

For Students:

"Depending on the role of school in their lives, youth leverage these structures for educational purposes - asking questions about homework, sharing links and resources, and even in some cases asking their teachers for information outside of the classroom. SNSs do not make youth engage educationally; they allow educationally-motivated youth with a structure to engage educationally." Apophenia: The Economist Debate on Social "Networking"

Online Social Networking And Education: Study Reports On New Generations Social And Creative Interconnected Lifestyles is an interesting look at an online study conducted by Grunwald Associates LLC in cooperation with the National School Boards Association. Although the information in this study is American-based, I believe that the numbers are similar for Canadian students as well. This study shows that over 96% of students use social networking sites and "[a]lmost 60 percent of students who use social networking talk about education topics online and, surprisingly, more than 50 percent talk specifically about schoolwork."Most students have had exposure to using social networking sites in their personal lives, but perhaps it's time for educators to tap into these sites as a form of connecting students with others in education. I think that it would be great for students who are studying a second (third, fourth) language to be in contact with others who speak it fluently. But there are other collaborative possiblities as well where classes from opposite ends of the earth could connect and share their learning experience, or perhaps an English class could connect with an author whose work is being studied in class. I think it is a matter of looking beyond Facebook and Myspace and creating a Ning for students to use.

What are possible negatives of joining a social networking site?

Of course there are issues of personal safety that need to be considered when joining a social networking site. CNN recently published Social networking sites dos and don'ts which relates more to what career people, or those looking for jobs should/shouldn't be putting on their sites, but much of this list can apply directly to our high school students. It is important for students to realize that they are leaving their technological footprint which is almost impossible to erase. They might not want to be associated with certain activities or people when they are applying for scholarships or jobs.

So, despite the fact that I was opposed to social networking, I was quite limited in my knowledge of how these sites could work, and I am glad that I have explored this topic further.

A fairy-princess' Hallowe'en

10 reasons why I LOVE VoiceThread!

1. It is not necessary to download VoiceThread onto your computer which allows easy access for students at school, and it means that it is accessible anywhere at anytime.

2. It provides a creative avenue for students/people to present their work/ideas!

3. As a teaching/learning tool, It's a thousand times better than powerpoint because it is interactive, allowing others to comment on students' work, as well as contribute their own ideas.

4. It does not require people to have a microphone or webcam, as they can comment using the keyboard.

5. The author can moderate the comments that are made in order to avoid any personal or inappropriate comments.

6. It is user friendly!!! There are tutorials which are very straightforward and easy to understand.

7. It can be used with still pictures, video or text, which are all easy to download from places on the web or one's computer.

8. One VoiceThread can have multiple identities, which is great for teachers.

9. One can "doodle" on the picture to emphasize or point something out.

10. K-12 educators can apply for a free VoiceThread Pro account by signing in, clicking the Create tab - 'Go Pro' – ‘K-12 classroom educators’. If one isn't an educator, it is still FREE, but the options are somewhat limited.

For the above listed reasons, and probably others that I haven't thought of yet, Voicethread has become my new favourite web tool!

My brain has been buzzing with all of the possibilities for using VoiceThread in both my personal and professional life. In my personal life, it will allow me to EASILY and QUICKLY document and share interesting events, successes or journeys that we are experiencing. After creating A fairy-princess' Hallowe'en, I immediately added all of the addresses from my address book onto my profile, and I invited everyone who would want to know what's happening in my daughter's life to view it. This is great for my family because we are so spread out around the world. Unfortunately, the only one who can't view it is grandma who is stuck with dial-up, but at least she can see these little "documentaries" when she goes to visit someone who has high-speed.

As for in the classroom, there are endless possibilities - I only wish I would have known about this two weeks ago when we were working on poetry anthologies in English 11. There are a lot of good ideas about how to use VoiceThread in the classroom, and below I have included a few links of interest.

Voicethread Examples in Education
Digitally Speaking Wiki / Voicethread
Voicethread 4 Education

Another idea that I think is great and could be easily done in an elementary or middle school classroom is to create a digital scrapbook - sort of like a yearbook, but with pictures only relating to one classroom. I think this would be a great way of creating a classroom community by allowing all students to participate in the contribution and creation of the scrapbook.

"Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual." Arthur Koestler