Voice FirstBy Lois Smethurst

INTRODUCTIONGiving students the option of using their voice as the first means of demonstrating their learning has never been easier or perhaps more important than it is in the current world of Web 2.0. It can be as easy as attaching a microphone to a computer and using one of the multitude of recorders that come with software, or as “new age” as sending a post to your blog with a mobile phone. Mobile technologies are evolving so rapidly that being able to articulate your thoughts quickly and with clarity will be increasingly important for everyone.

BERWICK LODGE PS – Audio e-Learning ProgramBerwick Lodge Primary School is a large school in the Southern Metropolitan Region of Melbourne, with around 750 students. It is well equipped with a computer lab and desktop computers in the classroom. In addition, the school has it’s own Radio studio that is used to broadcast on community radio once a week. The same studio is used to record interviews and to make podcasts of students work. Audio e-learning has been a strong focus of the school for a number of years.

I have always been a firm believer in the importance of students’ oral language as a crucial step in their literacy development and as the key to clarifying their thinking while learning. I also believe, as teachers, we tend to gloss over its importance, by not giving enough time in the school program for specific oral language development. For example, the Early Years Literacy Program (used in Victorian primary schools in Australia) prescribes an hour for reading and an hour for writing every school day for students in grades P -4. Where is the dedicated time for developing oral language, especially in the early years?

How often do we ask students to rewrite information in their own words only to find what they have written is nonsensical or merely a rearrangement of the original text with some synonyms thrown in? It is my experience that students are reasonably good at collecting information but much poorer at making sense of it. They can travel three quarters of the distance on their inquiry-learning journey but fail to fully complete it. They struggle to use the information they have collected to reconstruct the meaning for themselves. Often they are unaware that their journey is incomplete until you ask them to paraphrase or read what they have written. Then they will agree that they are not sure what it

Some audio files are simply attached to an image for our blog

means or that it does not make sense. Gordon Wells emphasizes the importance of speech and writing as a means of building and clarifying knowledge,

“The fact that the processes of thinking, such as categorizing, hypothesizing, reasoning, and evaluating, are not only realized in language, in the sense of being made manifest in speech and writing, but also actually constructed and improved through its mediating means.” (WELLS, 2001)

For students in primary school, the processes of thinking are more likely to be realized if the students are encouraged to use speech. Young students are inexperienced writers and we cannot expect them to use written language as the main expression of their thinking.

Students speak before they write. If we really want to know what they are thinking and how they are thinking, then the first form of communication should be oral especially for primary students who are still in the early stages of developing their writing skills.

Finding the words to verbally report the meaning is different to finding the words to make a written report, so both skills need to be practised.

Writing is more difficult than speaking and so students are much more likely to write things that do not make sense than they are to say them.

When students speak they get immediate feedback by listening to themselves and their awareness of the meaning of the material is heightened as they articulate it.

In 2008, I was the full time ICT teacher for students in P-6. In an effort to improve my own skills in planning for oral language development I took every opportunity to introduce an audio aspect to the ICT lessons that I taught.

While planning the curriculum for students in ICT, my goal was to have the final product a spoken one

so that students were more likely to access and construct information and new knowledge. Their research and preparation was often in writing but the presentation of their learning was to include a spoken element -an opportunity to tell (not read) what they had learnt. I wanted the students to be more involved in the learning process by making the realization of new information spoken as well as written.

Audio in the ClassroomIncluding audio as a part of ICT lessons is not difficult. Many software packages include a way of adding sound. Some lend themselves to the primary curriculum much more readily than others, but once we started recording voice, the method was much less important than the content.

OUR PROCESS1. Ask a friend to be your coach, practise what you are going to say and let

your coach give you advice.2. Make short recordings rather than one long one, listen to them, keep or

discard and record again.3. Insert the sound files to your presentation4. Return the favour and act as a coach for your buddy.

The students are encouraged to work with a “peer coach” who listens to them, advises them and clicks all the buttons for recording. This way the student who is telling their story can concentrate on what they need to say and has some feedback from a peer on how it sounds. Students are encouraged to “tell the story” not to read it. They are encouraged to use notes of the keywords rather than their text as a prompt.

SOFTWAREWe use voice recording software and then upload the audio files to the presentation of learning (PowerPoint, Voicethread etc.). This is more flexible for students and it lets them concentrate on the sound files without being distracted by other parts of the presentation. It also means we can access the sound files if we need them for another purpose, such as our blog.

PhotoStory is often used either as a class story or as a personal story. It is used with photos and original artwork.

VoiceThread is proving to be very flexible and powerful in terms of collaboration because it is an online tool. In time I’m sure it will be used across all the grades as often as the old favourites.

PowerPoint and MicroWorlds are also used fairly regularly. At times the audio is the most important thing and it can simply be

hyperlinked to a picture or produced as a podcast. The students have been involved in a number of Skype conferences this year with students

VoiceThread is an online tool that easily uploads images and sound files, embeds into the school blog and updates as new comments are added.

from New Zealand and other countries as well. The conference is recorded and produced to become part of the weekly radio show.

CONCLUSIONThere is always a sense of excitement in the room when the students are asked to use the microphones so students are very engaged. Audio is very inclusive. Not all of our students can write but a very high percentage of them are capable of making an audio recording.

Students do not say things that don’t make sense. Their audio files are an accurate reflection of the inquiry that they were involved in and the progress they have made. The audio files give a good indication of the complexity of their thinking and can be moderated against Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Digital audio can be used in many ways and at all levels in the classroom to enhance the learning experience for the students. It gives all students but especially those who are still developing their writing skills an opportunity to demonstrate their true level of thinking and to construct new knowledge.

REFERENCE & RESOURCES(n.d.). From Voicethread: http://voicethread.com

(n.d.). From Berwick Lodge Primary School Blog: http://berwicklodgeps.globalteacher.org.au

(n.d.). From LEEP: http://berwicklodgeps.globalstudent.org.au

WELLS, G. (2001). Action, Talk and Text: The Case for Dialogic Inquiry. In G. WELLS, Action, Talk and Text: Learning and Teaching Through Inquiry,. Teachers College Press.

BIOGRAPHYLois Smethurst is a Leading Teacher for ICT at Berwick Lodge Primary School. An educator for more than two decades, she has worked in various leadership positions in small rural schools as well as large suburban campuses. Lois is passionate about ICT, winning a state and regional award for Innovation In ICT. She has completed additional study in the area including INTEL Master Training, Teacher Professional Leave focused on the pedagogy of integrating IWB s and currently a Masters of Education in

Information Technology in Education. Her current role is in e_learning extension for highly able students and whole school leadership in ICT.

Contact detailsSmethurst.lois.la@edumail.vic.gov.au

http://loisath.edublogs.org.au

http://berwicklodgeps.globalteacher.org.au