I decided that I would make a listening test for my ESL students who have just recently finished reading Charlotte's Web. Since one of the components we rate ESL students on is Listening, this will make a great followup to the book. They will listen to recordings of five characters (well, actually me pretending to be the characters) and record on their test paper which character is speaking.
Their answers will be based on what is being said, not the voice.
I recorded the character voices on the first one I examined, Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com. The tool was easy to use and navigate. The free account provides 120 minutes. You need a microphone to record your voice. The steps are as simple as Upload, Record, Stop, Upload, and Save. You may insert an image, a title, and a description. Now remember, my voice is raspy and harsh from my pneu-asthma and comes across as rather too loud, so you might want to turn down the volume.
After each character's words, the recording can be paused for students to write their answers.
The next tool I experimented with is Audioboo at https:audioboo.fm. Because I didn't care to record character voices again (at least until my voice becomes sweet and melodic once more), I decided to record a voice that matched my own hoarse rasp. Audioboo is very similar to Soundcloud. You have the option to post to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Wordpress, or Blogger. When starting the recording process, you are reminded to have your microphone ready.
listen to ‘Wicked Witch of the West’ on Audioboo
I had a bit of difficulty working with the third tool, PodOmatic at www.podomatic.com. I created an account and chose Create a Podcast. I was directed to Select Media, but I didn't want to select media; I wanted to create it. I found a tab at the top of the page that read Publish. When I clicked it, a drop box opened from which I chose Create. Not as user friendly as the other two, but then again I may not be a friendly user. I gave my podcast a title and description, then proceeded to record. Each time I Saved it, there was nothing there. I may have been having connection problems. I tried five or six times. Each time I Saved, I was booted back to the sign-in page. After so many tries, I think my normal speaking voice now sounds just like the Wicked Witch of the West!
Podcasting can be useful in education. The library can place booktalks on their web page or post parent communications. Besides using it for listening tests, teachers can use it to have students record their voices. What fun! They can practice using emotion as they recite poems expressively. Actually, my students would have fun doing voices from Charlotte's Web. They could choose their favorite passage, record it, and have other students guess Who is Speaking?
I had a bit of difficulty working with the third tool, PodOmatic at www.podomatic.com. I created an account and chose Create a Podcast. I was directed to Select Media, but I didn't want to select media; I wanted to create it. I found a tab at the top of the page that read Publish. When I clicked it, a drop box opened from which I chose Create. Not as user friendly as the other two, but then again I may not be a friendly user. I gave my podcast a title and description, then proceeded to record. Each time I Saved it, there was nothing there. I may have been having connection problems. I tried five or six times. Each time I Saved, I was booted back to the sign-in page. After so many tries, I think my normal speaking voice now sounds just like the Wicked Witch of the West!
Podcasting can be useful in education. The library can place booktalks on their web page or post parent communications. Besides using it for listening tests, teachers can use it to have students record their voices. What fun! They can practice using emotion as they recite poems expressively. Actually, my students would have fun doing voices from Charlotte's Web. They could choose their favorite passage, record it, and have other students guess Who is Speaking?
I had a bit of difficulty working with the third tool, PodOmatic at www.podomatic.com. I created an account and chose Create a Podcast. I was directed to Select Media, but I didn't want to select media; I wanted to create it. I found a tab at the top of the page that read Publish. When I clicked it, a drop box opened from which I chose Create. Not as user friendly as the other two, but then again I may not be a friendly user. I gave my podcast a title and description, then proceeded to record. Each time I Saved it, there was nothing there. I may have been having connection problems. I tried five or six times. Each time I Saved, I was booted back to the sign-in page. After so many tries, I think my normal speaking voice now sounds just like the Wicked Witch of the West!
ReplyDeletePodcasting can be useful in education. The library can place booktalks on their web page or post parent communications. Besides using it for listening tests, teachers can use it to have students record their voices. What fun! They can practice using emotion as they recite poems expressively. Actually, my students would have fun doing voices from Charlotte's Web. They could choose their favorite passage, record it, and have other students guess Who is Speaking?