Using Audacity to improve writing

Students in Kerry Bootsma’s 8th grade English classes at Stilwell Junior High have been using Audacity to edit and improve their written essays. Audacity is a free software program for recording sound.  After drafting their essay, students read and record their essay at the computer.  Then they play the recording back and by hearing themselves read their own writing aloud, students are able to listen to the flow of their writing and make changes in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Here is some feedback from students:

“Hearing myself say the sentences pointed out some errors.  I shrunk a huge sentence into smaller ones, and I realized some things I had just didn’t make sense.”

“I thought it was really helpful because when you read it in your head you skip over words and only say what you meant to in your head.  But when you have to read it out loud, you actually have to look at the words.”

…………………….

Kerry Bootsma
7th Grade English Teacher
Stilwell Junior High
bootsmak@wdmcs.org

Committee to study “why?” related to 1:1 technology

As announced last week, the school board has requested a committee to study the “why” related to 1:1 technology. (for more info, see: http://wp.me/s1JF02-11study)  Our next steps are to identify who will be on the study team, which is outlined in the information below.

What tasks will the group *NOT* be responsible for?

1. No discussing devices: There is no need to compare technology devices – we do NOT have approval for deploying 1:1
2. No discussing roll out plans:  There is no need to discuss which grade levels and/or which schools are impacted.
3.  No discussing time frames:  There is NO approval for 1:1, so the time frame / deployment options does not need to be discussed at this time.

What tasks/questions will the group be responsible for?

1. What are the pros / cons of providing devices to students?
2. What are the benefits and anticipated results of going 1:1? If we did 1:1, what do we expect to see as results?
3. What specific benefits are other districts seeing as a result of 1:1?
4. Gauge community (staff, parents, community) interest in 1:1

When will the group meet?

• First meeting:  Feb 18th, 4pm to 6pm at the LRC
• Second meeting: Feb 26th, 4pm to 6pm at the LRC
• Following the 2nd meeting, we are anticipating some visits to other in-state districts to study why they are doing 1:1 and what results they are expecting.
• Next meeting: date has not been set, but expect to share visits and compile results.

What is the make up of the study committee membership?

• Each 7-12 school will have a number of representatives:  VHS(4), VSW (2), WCC(2), ST(2), IH(2).  
• Elementary schools will have a total of (4) individuals. 
• We’ll also be seeking administrators and parents, along with two school board members.

I’m interested in being on the group – who do I talk to?

• 7-12 Staff:  Contact your building principal to let them know you are interested. Each 7-12 school may use their own process to decide their representatives.
• K-6 Staff:  Contact Brian Abeling to let him know you are interested.  He’ll work with elementary principals to make the final determination on the elementary spots.
• Parents:  Interested parents should contact Brian Abeling (abelingb@wdmcs.org)

If the meetings are outside of contract time, will teachers be compensated?

Yes, teachers will be compensated for any meetings outside of contract time.  At this time, we’re anticipating 3 meetings outside of the normal work day.