324: Try Tiny Audio this Fall

The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast | ELA

On this week’s mini-episode, let’s talk about how to build an audio assignment in early in the year without feeling intimidated. Maybe you joined me for Camp Creative last summer and you’ve got alllll the student podcasting background, or maybe you’re new to the topic and feeling a bit wary. Either way, this episode is for you! Let’s walk through how to add a short audio assignment to your fall lineup that paves the way for more complex assignments later on.

First things first, you don’t need to use Garageband or Audacity for your mini audio assignment. Just let kids record on Chrome, using the Vocaroo website. There’s really just a big red button for them to push, and then an invitation to download their audio. It’s that simple.

Second things second, your first audio assignment can be just 90 seconds. This is a warm-up for what’s to come, and you just want your students to realize that they can communicate an idea through a recorded audio, and warm-up to the idea.

And now, the part you’ve all been waiting for. What will they record? Here are three ideas.

Let kids record a quick story about themselves as part of your icebreaker/relationship-building series. Give them a starter, like “Hi, my name is ______, and I think you’ll be surprised by what once happened to me…” or “Hey there, I’m ________, and today I want to tell you about the time I……” Be sure to say up front if you’re going to invite students to share these back to the class or keep them private.

Ask students to record a short book review about their favorite book. You’ll get to know your students better as readers, and pave the way for your choice reading program too. If you want to go further, pull some of the most reviewed favorite books from your library or the school library and create a display with them, or create a slide deck featuring top recommended favorite books with links to student audio reviews.

Finally, you might create a mini-audio assignment around the popular prompt “What I wish my teacher knew.” This one would be for your ears only, and likely help you understand your students better going into the year at the same time that they get a chance to get familiar with the idea of recording audio.

OK, that’s a wrap on today’s quick episode. Remember, audio is a powerful means of communication, and students can explore it without any high-tech hoopla. Start with something simple, and build from there.

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