10 Ways to Use Audio Recording in a Student-Centered Classroom

GotTechED Episode 37: 

In this episode, we’ll explore some of the benefits that audio recordings can bring to a student-centered classroom.  We describe 10 specific project ideas that you can bring to your classroom that involve audio recordings AND give you the edtech you’ll need to make those projects a reality.

1. General benefits of audio recording in student-centered classrooms
   1. Helps students with difficulty brainstorming
   2. “Safe” way to practice new learning/vocablulary for self-assessment – students can practice and repeat if they make a mistake.  Not possible when handwriting or performing
   3. Revising work – keep students accountable by asking them to record reading their work out loud
   4. Tone of Voice – reading a written work out loud and the listening back can help refine dramatic pauses, transitions, mood, etc.
   5. Differentiation –  Record your classroom lessons so that they are available to students after class as a powerful means to help students with learning disabilities
   6. Flipped Classroom – students learn at home by listening to podcasts, readings, dictations etc made by their teacher.  Students like to learn from their own teacher!
   
   
2. 10 Student-Centered Activities using audio recording
   1. Exit Slips – What have you learned today?
      1. Vocaroo
      2. Simple Audio Recorder
      3. Talk and Comment
      
      
   2. Picture Annotation- explaining a graph showing a reaction from a Chemistry lab
      1. Thinglink Upload to YouTube as an MP4 (audio+picture)
      2. WeVideo
      3. Google Slides
      4. Google Drawings
         1. Create a Google Slideshow and Insert a video onto a slide
         2. Set the start and stop time if you want only certain portions played by right-clicking on the video and choosing “Video options”.
         3. Now Copy the video from the Google Slideshow and paste it into any Google Drawing of your choosing.
         4. The video will play in your Google Drawing when your double-click on it.
         
         
      
      
   3. Vocal Language Test – World Languages Verbal / Conversational Test
      1. Vocaroo 
      2. Beautiful Audio editor
      
      
   4. Student Podcasting / Passion Project / Alternate to an English Essay
      1. Audacity for PC and Mac
      2. Beautiful Audio Editor
      3. Synth 256 second sound bites
      
      
   5. Music Recording – Write, record, and produce a song in various styles
      1. Beautiful Audio Editor
      2. Audacity
      3. Flocabulary
      4. Incredibox
      5. Vocaroo 
      
      
   6. Music Recording – Peter and the Wolf
      1. Beautiful Audio Editor
      2. Audacity
      3. Vocaroo
      
      
   7. Voice over Narration of a Comic Strip – bring a Google Slides Comic book to life
      1. MP4 trick with youtube
      2. StoryboardThat – automatically exports comics to presentation format in powerpoint or google slides – then audio record over top 
      
      
   8. Audio FlashCards – Self Assessment / Formative Assessment
      1. BookWidgets – digital content creation that supports lessons and activities with audio and other interactive elements – https://www.bookwidgets.com/.  Has flashcard templates where your recorded voice becomes part of the flashcard experience
      
      
   9.  Peer-Peer Feedback- Voice comments in a Google Doc
      1. Talk and Comment
         1. Share with teacher and peers so everyone can hear the critique of the paper
         
         
      
      
   10.  Asynchronous Debates- debating hot topics over long interrupted time periods
       1. Beautiful Audio Editor
       2. Talk and Comment
       3. Vocaroo
       4. Twisted Wave
       5. Voxer
       
       
   11. *** BONUS*** Math Explain Your Work-
       1. 1. Take picture of your finished problem
          2. Post to slides
          3. Add audio
          
          
       
       
   
   

3. Social Media:

   1. Guise on Twitter @guisegotteched
   2. Nick on Twitter @nickgotteched
   3. GotTechED the Podcast on Twitter @wegotteched
   
   

   Music Credits:

   1. The Degs: Shotgun http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Degs/
   2. @bensounds https://www.bensound.com/
   
   

   Other Relatable GotTechED Episodes:

   Making the Switch from Traditional to Student-Centered Teaching	https://gotteched.com/episode13	Student Centered Learning	Making the Switch from Traditional to Student-Centered Teaching
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   Second-Chance Learning, Escape Rooms, and Pecha Kucha	https://gotteched.com/episode17	Student Centered Learning	Second-Chance Learning, Escape Rooms, and Pecha Kucha
   Flipped Classroom, UDL, and Edtech Reform	https://gotteched.com/episode21	Student Centered Learning	Flipped Classroom, UDL, and Edtech Reform
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