Week 11 Assignment # 1 Article Reflection

Using Voice Thread to Promote Learning Engagement and Success for All Students

      Some of the important ingredients for learning success in school includes the ability to engage and sustain attention, participate actively, maintain high levels of motivation, and complete assigned tasks. However, we see many students who are at risk or has a disability experience difficulty in these areas. According to authors Stein Brunvand and Sara Byrd article; Using Voice Thread to Promote Learning Engagement and Success for All Students we see them delves into practical ways web based learning tool can boost the learning skills and motivation of those students who are struggling with their academics.What I really liked was that students were able to use multimedia platform to explore subject areas(Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science), express their ideas, and share all at their own pace and learning level. This is exciting because traditional education has left educators often making herculean efforts to engage students, motivate them, and differentiate instruction for those struggling with the general curriculum and instruction. But, in this 21st century with digital native students educators have to go beyond building student knowledge and skills,to tap into educational strategies that are aimed at increasing school engagement, stimulating motivation, and learner independence. To this extent the authors posits that; “Innovative technological tools, programs, and software can be used to promote student engagement, motivation, and ultimately enhance the quality of the learning experience for students with disabilities.” 

      Voice thread is a great tool because it is flexible, it can be used with students in general education, with students considered at risk, and with students with disabilities. Moreover, it can be used in whole class, in small groups, or independently in a classroom, computer lab, at home, or anywhere else an Internet-enabled computer can be found. It enables teachers to capitalize on student learning strengths and preferred learning modalities by encouraging active participation in the learning process. This allows students to take responsibility for their own learning and allows passive learners to become more actively involved through interaction with the instructional content as well as their peers. Teachers can provide instructional “input” through many means which include auditory means (e.g., teacher recorded messages or peer recorded messages) and visual means (e.g., reading text on the screen and looking at pictures/graphics, photographs, images, and video clips). On the other hand, students output could include verbal expression (i.e., students record their responses/interactions) or written expression (i.e., students type their responses). Teachers can differentiate the learning experience for students by structuring the use of these input/ output modalities to best meet the needs of the learner.

      In conclusion, there are many web platforms that strategically provide instruction and new ways for students to demonstrate their understanding of concepts. However, teachers and educators need to go through all these tools to find the one that best suits the needs of their students and use it to help them succeed in everyday classroom activities.