NOW Classrooms, Grades 3-5. Meg Ormiston

      Creating audio clips can help students discuss what they learned and reflect on their learning. Most devices have an audio-recording app that is native to the device. Using this feature allows the teacher to understand students’ thought process, check their fluency, and give oral feedback. Using audio is yet another option for students to choose as they demonstrate their learning.

      Learning goal:

      I can use a variety of tools to record my thoughts and opinions.

       Novice: Recording My Thinking

      Across the curriculum, we often ask our students, “How did you get your answer?” or “Can you explain your thinking?” This lesson focuses on these questions as students record their thought process while working through a problem. When students can listen to themselves as they work through a problem, they can improve their academic vocabulary and catch their mistakes.

       Process: Using a Voice-Recording Tool

      To complete the following six lesson steps, we recommend you use Fluency Tutor (https://fluency.texthelp.com/Chrome/Get), an extension in Google Chrome. If you prefer, you can adapt this process for use with a variety of other options. Some options include but are not limited to Audacity (www.audacityteam.org) and Educreations (www.educreations.com). However, we chose to focus on Fluency Tutor for this lesson because of the feedback this tool provides. With other options, teachers will listen to the audio clips and provide feedback to the students themselves.

      1. Students or teachers add Fluency Tutor to their devices by downloading the application before the lesson begins.

       TEACHING TIPS

      

Allow sandbox time for students to explore new apps or websites. We use the term sandbox to reference playing in a sandbox. We want students to play with and learn the capabilities of an app or website. This prevents the technology from distracting students from the lesson objective.

      

You can decide whether the students record once or have multiple attempts at recording.

      

Some students may need to practice before recording, or the teacher may decide that it has to be a cold read. A cold read is reading without previously practicing the text.

      2. Create an account to manage the data students collect as they read and record passages.

      3. Share a passage of text with the class, and have students read the passage aloud while the Fluency Tutor app records the audio.

      4. Students can use the helpful embedded tools, including a picture dictionary and text-to-speech conversion.

      5. In Fluency Tutor, use the data dashboard to see class progress and listen to the passages of individual students and color-code the errors.

      6. Students can always go back and listen to their own recordings to self-reflect on their fluency in addition to the teacher using these recordings for assessment and feedback.

       Connections

      You can apply this lesson to different content areas in the following suggested ways.

      • English language arts: Students can record themselves reading a story and practicing their best reading. Students should listen to the audio and then try to read the same passage out loud again to make their reading more fluent. Students save both audio clips to compare and contrast them.

       TECH TIPS

      

In a loud classroom environment, consider using a microphone or a headset with a microphone to reduce interference when recording audio.

      

The teacher should determine where the audio files are stored or shared. Some ideas include posting in a Google Form, sharing in a folder, or sending an email or message.

      • Mathematics: Students can record an explanation of a mathematics problem. As an extension idea, have students listen to each other’s explanations and see if they can solve the problem just by following the steps listed in the recording. Students can then give each other feedback on their mathematics explanations.

      • Social science: Have students compare and contrast audio recordings created by different students portraying different historical figures from different eras.

      • Science: Have groups of students create an audio summary about what they learned from an experiment.

      • Physical education: Have students record directions or coaching tips for other students to follow.

      Learning goal:

      I can splice together pieces of audio and adjust the volume as needed.

       Operational: Manipulating Multiple Audio Files

      This lesson focuses on combining multiple audio files together in order to create a final piece. During certain tasks or projects, students will have multiple audio recordings that they might need to combine in order to demonstrate their learning. Students can adjust the volume on these audio files and put them in a certain order for their final project.

       Process: Recording Actions and Audio With an Interactive Whiteboard App

      To complete the following four lesson steps, we recommend you use Explain Everything (https://explaineverything.com), an app and a Chrome extension that you can use on almost any device, computer, or tablet that uses the Google Chrome browser. If you prefer, you can adapt this process for use with a variety of other options. Options include but are not limited to the Chrome extension Screencastify (www.screencastify.com) and the website and app Educreations (www.educreations.com).

       TEACHING TIPS

      

Students should practice with a classmate to make the audio-creation process easier.

      

Make sure that the students stay focused on the learning objective. If necessary, provide scaffolding with a graphic organizer or storyboard that will allow the students to stay focused on the academic skills.

      1. Have students navigate to the app Explain Everything or launch the Explain Everything extension within Chrome on a Chromebook.

      2. Students will plan out their presentation and sequence pictures to illustrate the main points.

      3. Use the tools within Explain Everything to crop, add voice over, and manage audio clips to create a final project.

      4. The app pulls everything together into a movie that students can share through the class LMS.

       Connections

      You can apply this lesson to different content areas in the following suggested ways.