For this week’s sandbox, I really enjoyed playing around with all the different audio tools. I liked how AudioPal was simple to use. Because of the sixty-second time limit, I can see this tool being used for students to summarize a book or use it for making a “commercial” to get other people interested in a particular book. Something short and sweet.
Vocaroo didn’t seem to have a limit on the amount of time for a recording. This could be used for students to try their hand at podcasting. The materials they record could be longer and have more substance than if they used AudioPal.
I really thought kids would have fun creating audio files with Voki. 🙂 There were definitely a lot of different characters to choose from and different ways to manipulate how you wanted the background or the avatar to look. I did think that the graphics were quite dated, but to a young student creating a talking avatar, I don’t think they’d care. I liked the option of historical figures like Rosa Parks and Thurgood Marshall as an avatar. This could be a great tool for the teacher (or librarian) to use by recording a presentation using that avatar. It could bring those figures “to life” for the students. They also had figures from fairytales. Students could have fun adding their own voice to one of the three little pigs to retell that story. The only negative that really drove me nuts when playing around with Voki was the ads. There was a huge ad that kept popping up and scrolling halfway up the screen every time I was using it! That can lead to little fingers clicking on things that could lead to potential problems.
I also love Chrome Music Lab. What a fun way to be creative! This could definitely be used in a makerspace area (on a low volume, of course 🙂 ).
I listened to the Knights of Spatula from the Purple Rocket Podcast. It was about knights on a quest from the king that used sound effects and silly humor that kids would like. A fun podcast to use in the library or classroom!
I like your idea of students creating a commercial. What a creative way to incorporate audio tools in a lesson.
While I had fun playing around with Voki I agree that the ads also drove me nuts!
I like your idea about children using AudioPal to summarize a book. If they only had to talk for 60 seconds, maybe it wouldn’t be too overwhelming for them to report on the book.
I really enjoyed Voki as well. I like how you mentioned the historical figures in the Voki and how they could be “brought to life” in a way with this tool. I had not considered that. Good job!
I really had to try out Voki as well. I actually haven’t thought of the ad problem because I have an adblocker on my laptop, but I could definitely understand the issue it can cause especially when children start clicking on random ads. I like how you mentioned that the graphics were a bit outdated but I agree with you that they wouldn’t really care. I thought having an outdated character lip syncing what you type is way better and more fun than simply recording or writing the script.
A commercial is a great idea for a short podcast. Do you think 60 seconds is long enough for that? I like that Voki puts the “play” into their working with audio!
I think that 60 seconds would be long enough. Creating a “hook” to get a child interested in a book would have to be concise and to the point, but anything longer might not hold the attention of a really young student (I’m talking kindergarten age). 🙂 I also liked Voki too! 🙂
I didn’t look at Voki – but I wish I would have! I think you’re right, there’s a lot of classroom/library applications there and the kids will love it. Maybe there’s a way around the ads – an education account or something?
I’m going to make a list of podcasts I can recommend for students and families. I’ll add your suggestion – Thanks for the info and ideas!
Thanks for suggesting Chrome Music Lab. I’ll have to go check that out.
Also great creative ways to use the recording tools in the classroom/library. Nice review!