Learning Tools and Social Media
By: Mohamed Ansary
Speech Tools:
Google Voice
Why do I ask my students to use Google Voice?
Flagship students should get trained to speak over the phone using the target
language. (OPI)
For a warm-up, Google voice saves time.
All students have an equal opportunity to speak and leave a voice message.
I listen to each and every one and text him/her back in the target language
commenting on his/her message.
I get notified by email when a student leaves a voice message. I can text
him/her back using my Gmail account or my Google voice app on my phone.
Students are encouraged to speak on the sentence level/paragraph level as they
are encouraged to use the whole 3 minutes of the voice message.
Observations:
Students first were
intimidated.
Example: when my students were asked for the
first time to use Google voice for a warm up, a student said: “ What? Am I going to speak in Arabic
over the phone? No way. I cannot do that!”. The same student, later, was looking forward to knowing the daily topic of the warm up.
Some
students began to leave me voice messages whenever they had questions.
Students first were
intimidated.
Example: when my students were asked for the
first time to use Google voice for a warm up, a student said: “ What? Am I going to speak in Arabic
over the phone? No way. I cannot do that!”. The same student, later, was looking forward to knowing the daily topic of the warm up.
Some
students began to leave me voice messages whenever they had questions.
Conclusion:
This method is very interactive and
engaging.
Students become connected with their teachers.
Teachers can trace the development of their students as all voice messages are saved on their Google accounts. ( Formative Assessment)
This method is very interactive and
engaging.
Students become connected with their teachers.
Teachers can trace the development of their students as all voice messages are saved on their Google accounts. ( Formative Assessment)
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