Assignment #4
For my final assignment I am using Voice Thread to foster creative thinking while simultaneously using creative writing in the form of a poem students will write and read based on a painting I will post on Voice Thread.
Link to Voice Thread homepage: http://voicethread.com/
For this assignment, I will have every student create a Voice Thread account. They will have to then add me as a friend so they can access the assignment. I have created a Voice Thread of Pablo Picasso’s Blue Guitarist. Students will then write a poem about this painting and post it to the Voice Thread page.
Instructions on how access Voice Thread page:
To access my Voice Thread click on the link above to the Voice Thread homepage. In the browser type, Creative Writing Exercise: Poetry. A thumbnail will appear with the text Creative Writing Exercise Poetry. Click on it and it will take you directly to the Voice Thread.
(I couldn’t set an actual link because it costs money)
I thought this would be a great activity regarding learning theory and higher orders of thinking because students are actively engaging and interacting with two separate art forms. Students are remembering and understanding content from class that we discussed earlier surrounding the conventions of poetry. Students are also analyzing and creating. They analyze the painting and then create a representation of that painting in the form of a poem. Most of my projects have been founded in some form of social constructivism but this project leans more towards individual constructivism. Students are constructing and applying knowledge on an individual basis. Students will be learning by experimenting hands-on with concepts discussed in class through a new technology, Voice Thread. Students will be experimenting, practicing, and developing their own conclusions.
This project would also meet numerous teacher and student standards. By asking students to write a poem about a painting and record their product in a new technology I am using technology to facilitate creativity. Students are engaging with me through their poetry, meeting Teacher Standard I. Teacher Standard III is also met, by using Voice Thread I am recognizing the potential new technology has for me to interact with and assess my students. Student Standard I is met, students must use their knowledge of concepts from class to record a written work in a virtual environment. Standard IV is met because students will engage in critical thinking in their analysis of the painting. Standard VI is met because students are realizing the potential of technology and its ability to connect the teacher and student.
One struggle I had when implementing Voice Thread was, would students listen to the recordings of other students. The way I’m using it now, there is, basically, only an interaction between the teacher and the student. It is possible to use Voice Thread as a way for students to collaborate and interact with content but the only way I saw this being feasible is if each student did what I did. Each student would have to pick a painting or photograph and record their poem. Students would then add comments to each others work. Because I had to have some type of product to show that I interacted with technology, logistically I could not implement the former. This is also a serious trade-off. With Voice Thread I could implement it as a teacher/student or student/student interaction tool. With the teacher/student application it is relatively uncomplicated however it because increasingly more complicated and time consuming when incorporating it as a student/student application. I think to a certain degree this software forces one-on-one interaction or collaboration between teacher/students not teacher/many students interacting in virtual environment. There is a lot research supporting collective learning and how it fosters student achievement. It would be difficult, if unnecessary considering all the software designed specifically for collaborative learning, to use Voice Thread as a collaborative learning tool.
I found an article by Linda Weir supporting the use of Voice Thread in the classroom to encourage student participation and engagement with content. She writes about a teacher who used Voice Thread to in essence “extend his classroom.” I’m not sure I would describe Voice Thread as an “extension of the class” but would definitely agree that Voice Thread is a great supplement to classroom work. I would also agree that Voice Thread can increase participation, but this participation is, generally between teacher/student not student/student. It is the student/student interaction that is important, the open discourse between students that makes education rewarding and encourage creative thinking. He mentions the ability to have students simultaneously discuss topics through Voice Thread, I’m not sure this is possible, and if it were possible that Voice Thread would be the best option for this type of discussion. I think Voice Thread is a great tool for teacher/student interaction. If I was to use it as a teaching tool, it would be implemented in this manor.
Link to article: http://www.edutopia.org/print/5429
Your post makes a lot of sense and raises some important points about implementation struggles and links these struggles to possible bias/trade offs in the technology. It seems you are connecting these different constructs - which is a good thing. just be careful not to be become too critical of technology. Balance is key!
ReplyDeleteI don't have on record you meeting the INTASC standards 4, 6, & 8. We can talk tomorrow about how we can remedy this - likely with not too much extra effort.