Speak and email
Do you need to listen to your students? Besides when they’re in class, I mean?
Here’s the scenario. My Hebrew staff needed to be able to listen to their students read Hebrew passages. The kids were coming into the lab, recording the Hebrew passage in GarageBand, and then exporting the files to iTunes and then (that’s too many “and thens…”) dragging the file into the shared folder on the network for the Hebrew teacher to access later.
Much as I love to play with GarageBand and iTunes, it was a lot of steps for a teacher to be able to listen to a file.
Enter Vocaroo.
Using Vocaroo, a student can record a file and email it to a teacher. No required sign-up, no passwords. Nada.
The teacher gets a link via email, with a nifty little “download this” button, which opens the file as a QuickTime movie which can be saved.
Easy Peasy.
Sadly, today I found a second use for it. We have a former colleague who’s in the hospital after a car accident, and we decided to send her a CD with greetings. Rather than invite my 40 colleagues to the lab to record individual greetings (because, um, I’d rather have a root canal), I sent them a link to Vocaroo and instructed them to record their greeting and send it to me. I, in turn, am saving the files to iTunes for burning.
It rocks. Try it and let me know what you do with it.
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About
Debbie Harris is the director of educational technology at the Sager Solomon Schechter Day School in Northbrook, IL. Involved in Jewish education for over thirty years, she has an education degree from Northwestern University with a concentration in instructional media and a master’s degree in professional Jewish studies from Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership. She is skilled in using and teaching desktop publishing, video editing, presentation and animation software; and consults and presents regularly on integrating technology into Judaic studies. Her students podcast, blog, edit video and create claymations. She co-chaired the technology track for CAJE 33 in Vermont, is a SMART Certified Trainer for SMART Notebook, and a 2011 recipient of the Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for Excellence in Jewish Education.
When not learning, teaching or writing about technology, Debbie likes to sketchnote and craft. She likes to knit, do calligraphy, sew, watercolor, paint fabric and just generally play with fun toys like scrapbooking supplies and anything with texture. Debbie travels to California every summer to paint tallitot with high school aged campers. Finally, she is incredibly proud of her two daughters; Lori, who teaches English at a community college; and Allie, who is the director of the URJ’s Camp Newman in California.
Look for her at:
Debbie Does Desktop
Flickr
Twitter
Diigo
YouTube
Ravelry
Email Debbie here
MuseForJews 
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