Tech-Tac-Toe #1 - Voice Thread

I must admit I have a feeling of extreme accomplishment because I was able to figure out Voice Thread completely on my own - fumbling along and taking more time than many people, since I now realize it is extremely easy to create. Here is a sample voice thread I made about my family:




I selected this tool because I can see using it with my students. They write 'books': teaching and narrative so far, but I keep them as a record of their writing lives throughout the year. Already they have shown a ton of growth since we started writing on the first day of school! Since these are kept at school, the parents get to hear about their writing, but only view it during conferences and when it comes home at the end of the year.
At the end of each writing unit we have a publishing party. When we finished our teaching books, my students shared them with their second grade buddies. The second graders gave my kindergartners compliments and tips for future writing. It is always good to realize you are writing for an audience and receiving feedback is helpful. I had wanted to expand the audience for these publishing parties, but know that working parents can't take off work to come to our classroom every few weeks. Voice thread can be one way to address this situation.
I could take pictures of each page of the students books. Upload them to my computer, either as individual pictures or in Keynote, and them bring them into Voice Thread. I can call over each individual student to read the pages of their book. Once everyone was recorded, I could send out the link with my newsletter with instructions for parents so they could comment on the work. They, in turn, could share the link with relatives who could also comment - either through writing a note or recording their voice.
I envision having a parent volunteer help kids with the recordings, but am not sure when/how the students would view any comments left afterward. Perhaps the parents could show their child their portion of the Voice Thread so they could view/hear any comments left.
I send home binder books where every child in class has created a page. It's fun for parents to see all of the children's work as they progress through the year. This could be another vehicle for sharing student work and allowing parents to see and learn about their child's classmates through their writing.