Sunday, July 26, 2009

Powerpoints, Screencasts, and VoiceThread

Well one thing that was reaffirmed this week is that I'm a perfectionist who hates the sound of her own voice! Luckily, I found the screencast, made through screencast-0-matic, very easy to create (particularly to redo or edit when necessary). I'm curious what applications this could have. Here were just some ideas that I've been batting around.
  1. Using screencasts for pre-arranged absences. I'm planning to attend the NSTA conference in Florida this fall and would be missing two days of school. Typically (because we are a small school community) we just cover for each other when there are absences and those days would probably be spent doing seat work or independent work. This would allow the class to move foward without me there.
  2. Using screencasts for students who are absent (particularly ones who are chronically ill and out for many days). This would allow them to stay current with class material.
  3. Using screencasts for students with presentation anxiety. Along with learning disabilities that my students have often comes a presentation anxiety that prevents them from comfortably making class presentations. Allowing them to do a screencast would allow them to do it until they are happy with it and present to the class without getting up in front of them.
I think VoiceThread is a really interesting tool. It would allow for some interesting discussion and conversation and I look forward to using it.

All my materials can be viewed on the class wiki.
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5 comments:

  1. Tom WellnitzJuly 26, 2009 at 6:01 PM

    I like the idea of letting students who are uncomfortable with presenting something in front of class to use the screencasting with audio. It woud allow them to finish the assignment even if they didn't improve their speaking ability which is more of an indirect science objective anyway.

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  2. CherriJuly 28, 2009 at 7:50 PM

    Thank you so much for spening the time to think about how you can use screencasting and other presentation tools. I get so caught up in what I think works or doesn't that it really helps to hear someone else brainstorming.

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  3. Mrs. K.M. PendergestJuly 30, 2009 at 6:15 PM

    You have presented an very interesting way to make good use of screencasting. I think your idea is a great alternative that I will definitely use to accommodate students.

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  4. AnonymousAugust 1, 2009 at 2:46 PM

    Just enjoyed your screencast of the water molecule. Excellent use of graphics and animation. You have raised the bar for me! I learned a great deal from your project/presentations and love the inclusion of Mickie Mouse ears. And, the strawberry caught my attention! Good Job!

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  5. Simply gratefulAugust 1, 2009 at 11:46 PM

    Loved the Disney World connection! I will always remember the shape of a water molecule with ears now :O)

    Also, I appreciate your thoughtfulness about how to use screencasting and videothreads in a classroom setting.

    Interested in hearing how the professional development 2.0 went today on PowerPoints.

    Thanks for all your great work!

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