Week 2: Cool Tool and Voki

Here's a link to my Voki take a look.

Cool Tool 1 - Sound Cloud

The first cool tool I selected was Sound Cloud which allows you to record and play sound tracks. Below is a video on how to get started.

Review of Sound Cloud

After reviewing and playing with Sound Cloud, I've determined that there are a few different ways to use this tool in the classroom. A music teacher could record sound and play it back for student or he or she could work with students to record their own music for presenting to the class. Another use for this tool could be used by a variety of different content teachers by recording lessons, lectures, or famous speeches to be played in class for student. This tool could also be used for students on an IEP that need to have accommodations made to have their tests, homework, etc recorded. So, there are a lot of different ways this tool could be used in the classroom.

Students could use this tool to record their own digital artifacts, but I found it difficult to use. I think students would struggle with the tool as it was not very user friendly and is not intuitive. Even though there is a free version that is a 30 day trial, the site continually prompts you to try the Pro version which requires a credit card to be entered. The site does allow for uploading of a pre-recorded sound file which seemed to be easier to use than recording sound with Sound Cloud.

Personally, I would not use this in the classroom or any where else. I was immediately turned off by the constant request for my credit card number every time I tried to do something with the tool. The site was portrayed as a free tool but it was always asking for a credit card number to upgrade. Plus the 30 day trial also required a credit card number and then you have to remember to cancel your account so you don't get automatically charge after 30 days. I can see this being a problem for students who would set up a free trial and then forget to cancel their account racking up charges unknowingly.

If you are interested in trying out this tool, here's a link to create an account and try it out

https://soundcloud.com/