Now that we are all connected with devices, we communicate in writing a LOT. This can be convenient, and for introverts, it’s kind of a dream come true, but it also creates problems: Written stuff can be misinterpreted. It can take a lot longer to write something than to say something. And when we spend less and less time engaging with people’s real human voices, we lose a level of intimacy. In other words, you really do get to know someone better by hearing them speak.

Luckily, the ability to record and share our voice couldn’t be easier. With a few simple tools and a few steps, it’s possible to record ourselves speaking and share that recording with one person, a few people, or the whole world.

These small audio files, or “podcasts,” can also be used in the classroom. In my own field, English language arts, here’s how I would use them:

• Feedback on writing: Rather than offering written comments, I could provide spoken feedback on student writing. This could be time-consuming, so I wouldn’t do it frequently, but maybe once for every major piece of writing, right about the time when students are preparing to do their final drafts.
• Student-narrated writing: Having students record themselves reading their own written pieces—again, at that stage where they believe they are almost “done”—could really help them find the places where things need to be restructured. Reading work aloud is the best way to do this, and the pressure of making a recording seems like it would make students take the process more seriously. I can imagine students needing to re-record these over and over until they get it right, which is the kind of revision I really want to see young writers doing.
• Student book reviews: I want to build a culture of readers in my classroom, and having students recommend books to one another is a huge part of that. To make those recommendations more personal, I would give students the option to record their book reviews in audio and share those recordings through the class website.

 

Course Reflection

Here are my responses to the four course reflection questions. In order to keep my MP3 file sizes small, I recorded each one separately.

 

Question 1:
What have been my most important takeaways from this course?

 

Question 2:
Where did I struggle most and why? What did I learn from that experience?

 

Question 3:
What was my favorite module and why?

 

Question 4:
Describe 2-3 things I plan to do with the skills I learned in this course.

 

Even though I was the instructor for this course, going through each module myself definitely taught me some new things and made me feel more adept with these processes. I hope you’re feeling the same way.

Onward.