Doing Things Differently in 4th Grade with VoiceThread

This is a guest post by educator and VoiceThreader, Preeti Singh.

Technology has revolutionized the world. The current generation of students learn better when they are taught with the aid of technology. There are numerous benefits in using technology, and teachers have to learn to apply it to their advantage in “doing things differently” and not just “doing different things.” I love technology and look for various tools to ‘hook’ my students into learning. One of the tools that I really like using with my students is VoiceThead.

Here are some of the ways I have used Voicethread in my teaching:

I started off the year by creating a Growth mindset for my students. When a student possesses a growth mindset, they can look at tasks with a “go-getter” attitude and are able to bounce back from challenges with an optimistic point of view. When they fail at something they understand that they can use that experience to learn new ways to achieve growth towards a goal. In this voice thread they talk about the occupation they would like to have when they grow up. Secondly, how they will work hard to overcome obstacles to reach their goals.

Growth mindset VoiceThread

Next, during our fantasy unit we learned about Greek Mythology and each student researched the Greek God of their choice for their presentation.

**Greek Mythology **

For Language Arts, each student was given a grammar word to illustrate and explain it with a sentence.

Grammar Words

The most exciting voice thread was when we celebrated cultural diversity in our classroom. We are all Americans but represent a culture that is unique to everyone. We had an Ethnic Food Festival where each student researched their heritage and then brought food from the country that their parents or ancestors came from.

**Ethnic Food Festival **

Using Voice thread has been very rewarding for my students and me. In the words of Bill Gates, “Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.”

Teaching is my passion especially when I integrate it with technology.

About the Author

Preeti Singh is a fourth grade teacher at Livingston Park Elementary School in North Brunswick. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a Master’s degree in Education from Walden University, with a specialization in integrating technology in the classroom.  She has also worked towards graduate credits in Math Education at Rutgers University. Preeti has a passion for integrating technology in the classroom and is always finding creative ways to teach her students. She is in the process of pursuing a Google Educator Certification. You can find her on twitter at: @preetisingh65 and @LPFantastic4th