Testing. Testing. Can you hear me? We laugh about it now, but how many times have you had someone talking in a Zoom or Teams meeting to only realize no one has heard them because they forgot to unmute their microphone. Bottom line, we all have something to say and want opportunities to share our voice. This got me thinking about some of the audio platforms out there.Â
Even before we experienced more virtual and/or remote classrooms, we had ways to use audio recordings or conference calls with our students, parents, and colleagues. I, for one, loved to record messages to my students in Microsoft OneNote. This was especially useful to give feedback or encouragement on writing assignments. Instead of a student seeing comments or pen markings all over their paper, it reduced anxiety to just listen to the tone of my voice and hear some tips given by their teacher who genuinely wanted them to succeed.
If you use OneNote and want to try this technique, you can find some step-by-step guidance here.
There are some great ways to interact on audio only platforms. I have not been able to use Clubhouse because it is currently only available to Apple device users, but I know of a lot of friends who are enjoying the conversations held there. Facebook recently announced that they are putting their hat into the ring.
Other ways to use audio:
- Students can read their creative stories or hold slam poetry
- Graduations are coming upon us. Think about using an audio recording to send a message to your students for congratulations and inspiration.
- Assign parts of a play and have students read a scene
- Use audio for a lesson on tone using speeches
- Principals can share messages to the community
- Music performances
So as much as we have been complaining about being on devices more than ever, it seems like this practice is not going anywhere. I want to embrace using more audio because it appears that there are more platforms opening up to have us use our voice and hear other’s. It might even be a chance to get more engagement for certain lessons or classroom discussions because it does not require the video camera to be on. I am excited to have another way to have students presenting their ideas and thoughts in audio breakrooms so they can continue to teach and learn from each other. What ideas do you have for using audio platforms or recordings in the classroom?
See You Real Soon,
Erin