Audio use in the classroom

As an adult I started listening to NPR in the car in the mornings on the way to work. On weekends we play it in our kitchen while we cook or clean. I've come to love the stories people read aloud. Some of them are factual reports on important topics or silly ones. Others are stories from individuals who have something to share about life. Listening allows me to connect with the reader, sense the feelings that the author is sharing, and allowing me to experience a story in a new way.

So as an adult who is an educator why have I not thought about exposing my students to the same type of experiences? Well, until my multimedia tools in education course I hadn't. Then I was exposed to a short 1 minute story that had such a huge impact that now I use audio in my classroom.

Why use Audio?

Using audio allows students to listen to instructions or educational content at their own pace. They are able to pause or go back as many times as they need to help aid their understanding. Audio allows readers of all levels to enjoy books that they may or may not be able to read on their own. Audio evens the playing field among my students and creates an even more dynamic environment for learning.

Ways to use Audio

Now that I am using audio in my classroom my students love having another way to independently and personalize their learning. I record lessons for students to watch so they can go back and reference what we are learning. I have students record stories to share in our audio library so that everyone can hear stories be read aloud. We use apps in our classroom like EpicBooks! that have high interest books for students to read and interact with. They have audio versions for students to enjoy. Students use audio and screen-casting to show understanding using fun apps like Flipgrid and Screencastify. Audio helps my students learning, show their understanding, and keep them engaged in fun ways.

Artifact from Multimedia Use in Education

After learning about the importance and power of using audio within our classrooms; we were asked to create an audio lesson of our own. I created one using ipadio.com and shared it with my class. I then asked them to create their own short story to share with their peers. They could pick the subject matter and it could be fiction or non-fiction. Students were so excited to complete this assignment. They wanted to record their own work and share it with others. I hadn't planned on spending 45 minutes allowing students to listen to one another stories but they were so engaged and excited for one another that I had to let them keep working. It is in these moments as teachers that the clock no longer takes precedent; instead the power of learning takes place and we must recognize this as educators and allow our students to guide what we do and when.

Here is the story I created and shared with my class. Enjoy!

Halloween By Abby Cameron