The Good and Bad of VoiceThread

               Digital storytelling puts a twist on traditional storytelling in the classroom. A classic storytelling activity that is used in elementary schools (primarily used in the lower grades) is show and tell. A teacher may have students bring in an object about themselves and their life outside of school. This activity gives students a chance to get to know their peers better and verbally talk about themselves. Digital storytelling has the same purpose, instead students "speak" through a virtual platform. A program called VoiceThread is great tool when it comes to digital storytelling. I enjoy it because it allows students to explore their creative side. Using VoiceThread as an alternative for the traditional "show and tell" activity is unique, but involves strategic planning on the teacher's part. Creating a lesson plan on digital storytelling with the help of VoiceThread involves three stages. In the first stage the teacher focuses on planning the lesson. Teachers will first decide how photos will be collected, create their own VoiceThread as an example and decide what strategies students need to navigate the website. What I like about VoiceThread is that photos can collected in various ways. For example, digital photos can be sent through email, CD or flash drive and so forth. Even if a student does not have access to pictures at home, the teacher can take a picture of him or her in class or the student can even draw pictures for VoiceThread. A student does not need to have access to certain resources to use the program, anyone can use VoiceThread!

               The second stage involves modeling the lesson plan. This is the most crucial stage. When the teacher is moving the cursor over icons on the page, thinking out loud allows students to understand the teacher's thought process. Metacognition is applied and used. The downside of VoiceThread is that not all icons are labeled. For instance, VoiceThread does not provide directions on how to record or type messages. The teacher should let students know that hovering the cursor over certain icons will give them different options and actions. Since each icon is not labeled with words, this may cause confusion among young students. Using VoiceThread involves trial and error, this can either motivate students to find a way to complete their tasks or frustrate them.  

              The last stage is on independent practice. Once the teacher has explained how to use the site, students can work collaboratively and add captions and audio recordings to their pictures.  Collaboration may occur in a day or more. Working together will allow students to think critically about the project. After the project is complete, teachers should evaluate the lesson and make necessary changes. Assuming that the class did not like VoiceThread, the teacher may consider using a different digital program in the future. Other digital storytelling programs include Photo Story, iPhoto and Animoto. Lastly, VoiceThread allows parents to comment and join in on student projects. This is a great feature, since it allows families to participate in their child's education! VoiceThread builds a sense of learning community between students, teacher and families.  

Intergrating Reciprocal Teaching into New Literacies

I believe that reciprocal teaching is one of the most powerful types of teaching strategies. Reciprocal teaching creates a dialogue between the teacher and student and incorporates four strategies: questioning, summarizing, predicting and clarifying. During the beginning stage of reciprocal teaching, the teacher models strategies that help the student complete their work. The teacher serves as a guide and reinforces the importance of strategies and explains its importance in facilitating reading. Gradually, over time the teacher loosens his or her reigns and lets the students take over the strategy without their help. This teaching method is effective because it builds a student's learning confidence and allows them to understand what they've learned on a deeper level. Some students may find reciprocal teaching enjoyable since they get to become the teachers for a change. This strategy can leave students with a feeling of autonomy. 

Internet reciprocal teaching or IRT is quite similar to standard reciprocal teaching. IRT has the same method, it starts off easy and gradually becomes harder. However, unlike reciprocal teaching, IRT incorporates different strategies. These strategies include: questioning, locating, evaluating, synthesizing and communicating. IRT consists of three phases. As the phases progress, the amount of responsibility for students increases. Phase 1 focuses on the technology tools, in this phase teachers model strategies and are in control. In phase 2, students and teachers work together to conduct demonstrations and minilessons. Depth gets added to instruction, it may move from search skills to evaluation skills. Finally in phase 3, students work either independently or in small groups and use skills and strategies that were previously learned. I believe that IRT will contribute to the growth of a student's learning independence. It is systematic and involves the use and application of schema, which is why it is effective. Lastly, IRT will allow students to communicate with others in a different and modern way.

↬ Reciprocal teaching will continue to thrive in the classroom and IRT will become more widely used. Both teaching methods will stick around for a very long time!  ↫