VOICE THREAD VS. VOXOPOP

VOICE THREAD VS. VOXOPOP

Now, we are in the twenty-first century, and as teachers, we do not need to use the same tools that old teachers used in the past. We need to innovate day by day. Technology is an important tool to use in an EFL classroom because it is easy to use and the most important is that there are a variety of programs to take advantage of. In our classroom, we have tried some of them, such us: Voice thread and Voxopop.

According to my experience, I must admit that I had some problems using those web applications, but at the same time I understood that it was something normal because both of them are free, so they do not have an obligation with you.

However, the question is: Which program do I prefer, Voice thread or Voxopop?

VoiceThread is an application that allows you to place collections of media like images, videos, documents, and presentations at the center of an asynchronous conversation. VoiceThread allows people to have conversations and to make comments using any mix of text, a microphone, a web cam, a telephone, or uploaded audio file, meanwhile in Voxopop you just can record audio messages to express your ideas or ask questions and then people can record their own messages to respond to you.

In my opinion, I really prefer to use Voice thread because it is more interactive. You can make more things there, and for educational purposes, it can be more attractive for your students. I enjoyed using these programs in the class because I could learn something new to teach my future students…

What do you think?... Share your opinions please!!!

I interviewed Ruth, and she told me that for her the hardest skill to develop was Critical thinking. However, she wanted to improve that weak skill, and what she did was to read as much as she can about different topics or problems that she saw on the news, also she made puzzles because she consider that It would help her to develop a better judgment, but what she loved the most was to read about crazy world facts because she considered that it was a fun way to improve her weak, and at the end she told me that solve questionnaires is another good way to improve it.

When I asked Ruth about What kind of activities did you like your teachers to develop in regards to your weak skills? She answered this: “I love debates because when you think your partners have said it all in pro or cons on a topic you think different and surprise your opponent with staments completely out of the box”. As a future teacher, I consider that debates can be a good way to improve critical thinking because students can express their ideas at the same time they can see the pro and cons about the opinions of their classmates, and at the end they will decide which is the best solution or opinion about the topic.

At the end, I asked Ruth if she still has the same problem with that skill. She told me that she sometimes miss information when she reads an article, and she definitely struggles to understand about politics, and some others interesting topics.  Even when she reads a book she misses the meaning of actions of the different characters, and things like that.

Well, what I consider is that she is putting all her effort in order to improve her weak. It will not be easy because she needs to put attention to more details, but she can be a master on Critical Thinking in the future if she perseveres… CONGRATULATIONS RUTH!!! I know that with those techniques you can improve it...

Classmates, we must help Ruth… Can you answer these questions please?

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT RUTH’S TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE HER WEAK SKILL?

WHICH TIPS CAN YOU GIVE HER TO IMPROVE IT?