Voice Threads... Cool!

Once again, I checked out this eye-catching Web 2.0 tool and was doubtful I'd be able to find meaningful ways to integrate it. When will I learn??? And thank goodness for Web 2.0 in general! I don't know if I would have the patience (or energy) to sit and contemplate how to use all of these tools. I LOVE that there are entire web pages designed to show me, a fourth grade teacher, how to use Voice Threads in a variety of ways.

After looking at the pumpkin story by the kindergartners, the whole program kind of reminds me of PhotoStory. Of course, I am pretty sure that students can't comment on their peers' work like with the Voice Thread. I love that component. Looking at the site that offered 20+ ideas helped me to get those gears moving. I've been spending too much time at the beach, I guess... Anyway, here are some initial thoughts. I can't wait to toss them around with my partners!

1. The What-if: When I watched the beginning of the first video, it wasn't exactly what I expected. However, having the kids play what-if with one of our Spinelli novels would be fantastic. The theme of each book ties so well into character education. I would love for the kids to hypothesize on how one decision by the central character or bystander could have re-written the entire plot. And thanks to Dottie, these kids LOVE to act. It would be fun for them to write their version and create a movie for all to see. Or they could even create a picture of a scene and comment on what they would have done in that circumstance and how it would have changed the outcome of the situation.
2. Colonial Times: We already have the kids create their own family album set in the early colonial era. It would be fantastic to post pictures of the artifacts and illustrations they create and share why they chose those particular things. I would also have them explain the process they went through to create their artifact. They could even retell their family history (they have to write one as a group) and have a series of pictures illustrating their journey.
3. Predictions: They could share their predictions about the literature circle book they are reading
4. How-To's: This seems to really lend itself to science. Instead of a PowerPoint about the water cycle, they could explain the cycle with an illustration already posted. Using the draw tool, they can point out the main parts of the cycle and even add in additional information. Something similar could be done for the phases of the moon.
5. Problem Solving: I thought this one was wonderful! The kids were so excited to explain how they arrived at their answers. Leslie has brought those amazing math vitamins to the fourth grade. They are expected to write a summary about how they arrived at their answer. Prior to that, they MUST prove their answer is correct with manipulatives or diagrams. We could use an image of their "proof" and have them explain it.
6. Wordly Wise Review: The students could choose an image to post that represents one of the vocab words. Kids could guess what the word is (explaining what about the image leads them to believe that) and wait for the original student to tell them.

Bottom line - I think the kids would love this. They relish any opportunity to share their work with others. The notion that their peers will be viewing and commenting on their work will add a great deal of motivation. They want to impress each other!