Audio Tools

While exploring the different audio tools this week, my wheels were definitely turning for uses in the library. Today was my last day as a classroom teacher (bittersweet!) and I have to transition myself to thinking differently!

 I couldn't get Vocaroo to load my microphone for some reason, but I really liked the simplicity of it. It was ready to record right when you visited the site. Students wouldn't need as much instruction for that since it's pretty straight-forward.

AudioPal is what I tried next and I really liked all of the options. You could record your message using your microphone, calling in, or using the text-to-speech technology. I liked that you could even upload mp3's as well and it was very easy to embed it on this blog. Free is always good, too! ^_^

Voki I learned about awhile ago and I think it is so neat to be able to use avatars to do the talking for you! It really helps those students especially that don't like public speaking. It's an interesting and creative way to present information and is very interactive. I like that there are so many choices for avatars but I do find it a little creepy that the avatar follows your every move haha. This one had the most customization available, which could be good or bad depending on time allotment. Kids might take more time creating the avatar for the product they have to create than on the product itself.

 In regards to the other audio tools, I really like VoiceThread. I was actually just introduced to this recently in my Foundations class for my Masters in Library Science. We use it in our research discussions and for the professor(s) to give their lectures and get our comments. I like that you can type your response, as well as call in or record a message, and even add doodles as you comment. It's a very interactive tool that gets everyone talking and keeps discourse going. In a library setting, I think it would be interesting to use that for a library orientation activity!

Finally, I've listened to Pandora for years, but didn't really think about educational value until just recently! One of the project options I gave my students for their final novel project was to come up with a playlist for the important events and characters in a book they were reading. Many authors publish their own "soundtracks" for novels, including Stephenie Meyer when she was writing the Twilight series. I think it would be a great idea for a book club to share their ideas and maybe play the playlist during the next meeting or library lesson.