Storybird

This week we used halloween images from 'Storybird' as inspiration for writing.  The images were used for shared writing before children used the same images for their own writing.

Voicethread

I was looking for a way to brainstorm ideas with children that didn't require them to write or type.  I have been exploring Voicethread and think that it has many possibilities for use in junior school classrooms.  
Prior to using Voicethread we created avatars. Then I uploaded these images onto my Voicethread account, so that when I recorded children their picture would appear.  

Voicethread for recording learning
Our first attempt at using Voicethread was to record what we had learnt about school life in the 1860's.  I used photographs from our "Old School Day" as prompts for ideas.  

Voicethread for Questioning

Yesterday the class used Voicethread for the second time.  

During writing time we used a short film clip called 'Bubbles', written by Gabby Zapata.  I e-mailed her to ask if we were able to embed her video into our blog and also if she would be happy to answer some questions that we had about her film.   From her blog we had already learnt that she was now working for Disney as an artist and animator.  We recorded our questions as a voicethread and e-mailed it to her.  We are looking forward to her reply.

Quicktime

Quicktime player is a great application to teach children how to use.  With the click on a few buttons they are able to record themselves reading a text during guided reading time, which you can then listen to and discuss with them later.  It is great for children who are working of fluency.
Click on 'Quicktime player', then 'audio recording'.  Click the record button to start and end recording. To save the recording, click on the red button at the top left of the recording.  This will prompt you to give your recording a name and then save it.

Keynote for Recording Voice

A really quick way to record a child's story is to use keynote. Insert artwork, click on 'File', then 'record slideshow'.  
After recording, export as a quicktime movie file.  It is very simple to use, which means that children pick it up very quickly and will be able to record independently within no time.

Avatars

There are lots of good sites for creating avatars.  The one I used was manga.  It was a simple website for junior children to navigate around.  Once you create an avatar you simple screen capture the image and upload it.

Soundcloud

Soundcloud is a audio recording tool.  It is fairly simple to use and the kids love that you can add their avatars along with their recording.

Interactive Whiteboard and photographs

Use the image capture button, in the 'tool kit' setting 
to select a particular part of an image.

Draw around the image and it will appear on your flip chart.

You can merge images or add a background to create new images.  A fantastic way to motivate children to write. 

Other examples;-

  

 

Activinspire course notes