Voicethread for Oral Communication

In our current unit on school, French intro student had been learning the vocabulary for daily routine and their school environment. Over the past few months, we have learned everything we need to know about school: Our classroom environment, our classes and teachers; and lately, the activities that take place before, during and after school. Students learned basic action verbs (-Er verbs: étudier, parler, écouter, marcher, porter, regarder, etc) as well as expressing likes and dislikes (J'aime nager, je déteste étudier!).
My goal as a French teacher is always for students to have real communication (apply the content into relevant, contextual communication, using acquired vocabulary and grammar.)

TOOL: The project I chose to share for this class used VOICETHREAD as my web 2.0 tool. The Voicethread project pictured regular ISB students' routine around campus.

TASK: Using as much French as possible, French Intro students were required to comment on 1-2 pictures following specific instructions and requirements.
To add a little challenge to their descriptions, one instruction specified that no comment or information could be repeated on any 1 picture; requiring participants to listen carefully to their classmates’ comments.

PROJECT:


Here are a few things to consider in using VOICETHREAD

-GOAL: Set your goal.
My focus was for students to communicate ORALLY using the vocabulary and grammar. VOICETHREAD offers different options. Students can write comments, draw on the picture, or record a voice comment. I chose to ONLY USE THE VOICE RECORDING to promote for impromptu French oral communication. Of course students might/could prepared their “recorded comments” by writing them first, but this assignment invited them to practice SPEAKING French. At the end, everyone could listen to their own or their classmates' creation, accents, pronunciation; and hopefully feel proud of their accomplishments as first year French students.

-TIME:
Allow enough time for students to practice and learn how to use the tool!
I learned from one class that it was better to have students log into VOICETHREAD right at the beginning of class and follow along to practice recording their message with guided instructions, rather than explaining and/or demonstrating each step, leaving students as mere spectators without any practice time.

-PICTURES:
Because I did not want to use too much class time preparing the projected (my focus was on oral communication), I elected to take the pictures myself. I was able to take pictures of different students at different times, around school. It allowed me to target specific actions and therefore vocabulary.

However, if students were familiar with VOICETHREAD, another assessment could be for them to create their personal routine, using a VOICETHREAD presentation and their own photos + comments. It would require more time in class/at home: to take, download, upload, pictures. One would need to be specific about the quality (and source) of the images also?

-PERMISSION: There is one important information that my project advisor (Kim Cofino) recommended for me to think about: Consider asking students’ permission for taking and using their photo in an internet-based school project.