Vocaroo
The first tool I explored was Vocaroo. This site does not have any bells and whistles-you just click a button and record yourself. The recording can then be downloaded, saved, or embedded in another application. It was very easy to use, and could probably work for younger students who are just learning how to record a simple audio. All in all, there was not anything really exciting about-very ultiliarian.
Online Voice Recorder
This site allows you to record directly on your browser page and later download, save, or embed your recording as a MP4 file. Unlike Vocaroo, Online Voice Recorder allows you to do edit your recording as well as sync it with a video that you can also edit. I found that it is a lot like Flipgrid, but you do not have sign up, pay any fees to use the site, or worry about who can access your recordings (no storage on their servers). While I could use it in my classroom for students to record book reviews or speeches, I think Flipgrid is a better product for those activities.
Chrome Music Lab
This was a really fun site to play on. I was able to explore different sounds and even make my own song (see the link below). The site was easy to use and did not require any log in information. My students would really enjoy using this as an activity during free time, and they could use the song maker feature to record and share their own tunes.
https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Song-Maker/song/4951383323967488
Part 2 Podcast Review
I listened to a podcast on Book Riot’s Hey YA site hosted by Tirzah Price wherein she discussed the graphic novel adaptations of two young adult novels. Price began the podcast with a review of Graceling by Kristen Cashon and illustrated by Gareth Hinds. This high fantasy novel, which are relatively rarely adapted into graphic novels, tells the story of Katsa, a girl who is “graced” with the ability to kill, and thus pressed into service as an assassin/bodyguard for her uncle, the king. She later joins forces with Po, who is searching for the truth behind his grandfather’s disappearance. Price notes that while the original novel was 480 pages in length, the full-color artwork of Hinds seamlessly integrates Cashon’s story in a mere 260 pages without sacrificing any of the stories rich details. The second novel, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass: The Graphic Novel, by Meg Medina and illustrated by Mel Valentine Vargas, details the horrors of bullying endured by a young Latina, Piddy, as she tries navigate a new high school, her strained relationship with her mother, and feelings of loneliness and isolation. Price points out that Vargas’ use of the color blue helps reflect Piddy’s inner turmoil, and she points out that although the original novel was published nearly ten years ago, its topical subject matter and graphic novel format, opens up the book to new readership.
Cashon, K. (2021). Graceling: The graphic novel (G. Hinds, Illus.). Clarion Books.
Medina M. (2023). Yacqui Delgado wants to kick your ass: The graphic novel (M. Vargas, Illus.). Candlewick Press.
Price. T (Host). (n.d.). Hey YA extra credit: graphic novel adaptations [Audio podcast]. Book Riot. https://bookriot.com/listen/#heyya