VoiceThread in the Classroom

VoiceThread.com Instructions Free To Register Go to VoiceThread.com Click on “Sign in or Register” Click on “Register!” Complete the information and click on “register” Getting Started Listen to the Tutorials Set up your microphone (tutorial) “Create” allows you to upload images, docs and videos and then you can “comment” on the uploaded information. Share After you have created your first VoiceThread, click on the wheel at the bottom of the icon of the VoiceThread you created. Click on “Share” Click on “Add a Friend” Complete the information (you will need to collect student or parent e-mails in order to share the information with the students) for each student. tags: Morrison First Block (this allows you to group “friends” for searching) Three are free Classroom Listen to the tutorial on setting up the class. The following are some additional notes regarding using VoiceThread Write down your domain name after you create it Set Up Class If a student does not have an e-mail account VoiceThread will assign an “e-maill address”. The e-mail address is not actually an e-mail but is the login for the students. The Password is case sensitive IMPORTANT – after you enter EACH student, print the page with the students Login, Password, and Identity (VoiceThread does not create a class list – when you enter the next student the previous student’s information will be deleted) RECORD KEEPING – copy and paste each of the student record pages into a Word Document. You will have a classroom list of student VoiceThread information  User(s) successfully added. Please print this page for your records. Name Login Password Identity Carley Morrison carley.morrison@parkwaysocialstudies.ed.voicethread.com Cars92 Cars Ease of Use – if you have VoiceThread assign the students an “e-mail address” the students can go to VoiceThread.com and login. This strategy will ensure a student does not miss an assignment because he/she did not receive the e-mail. World War II Political Cartoons Objective: Students will analyze World War II political cartoons. Materials: VoiceThread.com (students who do not have internet access can be given hard copies of the political cartoons and not utilize VoiceThread) Time Frame: 30 minutes Lesson Plan: Project VoiceThread.com assignment on the screen Explain to the students that they will receive an invitation to the voice thread via e-mail Show the students how to voice record or type their response Ask if there are any questions (this is a homework assignment) Note: Teacher Script for VoiceThread (copy and paste into the “type section” so the students can read the instructions as well as hear the instructions) Background Information on the Cartoonist During the 1930s and 1940s, Herb Block was an early supporter of aid to England and to European allies faced with Nazi aggression. He also supported measures to prepare America for the struggle against aggression. He cited Nazi outrages, giving them graphic form and visual power. He drew metaphors for the resilience of the human spirit, the inhumanity of war, and the duplicity of dictators. Your job is to analyze the political cartoons of Herb Block to gain a deeper understanding of World War II. View the cartoons. Refer to the link for each political cartoon to place the cartoon in the context of the time period. Select one cartoon to interpret. Respond to the following questions in a complete monologue (write out your response before recording – if you don’t have a microphone you can type your response) What symbols are included in the cartoon? What information can you learn from the title? What do you need to know to interpret the cartoon? Where did you find the information? Interpret the cartoon – what can you learn about World War II from the cartoon? Compare two of the cartoons. Make clear connections between the cartoons (record or type your response). Link your comments to one of the two cartoons you are comparing – refer to the second cartoon by its title. Upload your picture to go with your comments (optional) Congressional Leadership Introductions Voicethread Activity Students will use the voicethread website to introduce a member of the U.S. Congress’s leadership Students should be in the computer lab and logged on to the class website: http://www.pkwy.k12.mo.us/west/homepages/home.cfm?userid=mskordos 1. Assign each student a member of the house leadership from the following list: Speaker of the House President of the Senate House Secretary President Pro-Tempore of the Senate Majority Leader Majority Leader Majority Whip Majority Whip Minority (Republican) Leader Minority (Republican) Leader Minority (Republican) Whip Minority (Republican) Whip St. Louis Area Representatives Missouri Senators (2) District 1, 2, and 3 2. The students should then research the following items about each person: Name: State they represent: Political Party: Duties of the job (at least three things): Responsibilities (at least three things): Years of service: 3. When you are finished you should log onto the Voicethread website 4. CREATE A NEW VOICETHREAD. 5. To start place a picture of your person on the site (you will need to locate a picture and save to the desktop as a jpeg in order to upload to voicethread). 6. Then record your voice introducing your person. Please include the items from above in your introduction. 7. Then invite me to view the assignment. Click on the right arrow at the bottom of your picture. Then click “Invite your friends”, then add+ and type in our email addresses. Use these email addresses: 8. Then click on the contact and then send invite. 9. We will present these to the class on Thursday and they are worth 50 points. znalbandian@pkwy.k12.mo.us - Zaven Nalbandian is a teacher at Parkway West High School.