Beltsville

= Beltsville Elementary School =



=__Teacher Portfolios __=

Christine Davis

Melissa Gent

Ellen Miller

Stephanie Richardson

Jenni Winters

=__Participating Administrator's Project__ =

Steve Beegle media type="custom" key="3924063" This voicethread showcases some of the events and activities that occur at Beltsville throughout the school year. It has been a collaborative effort between students, parents and teachers sharing an audio commentary of their favorite events. I really enjoyed this application as it was a means to communicate information throughout the entire school and it became more interesting as additional comments were added to the pictures. This would be a useful display for newcomers or Back to School programs. It shows our school as a community of learners where diversity is welcomed and parents are encouraged to participate in school events. Viewing the Voicethread would allow newcomers to preview some of the activities at Beltsville, hear the voices of some of the teachers and feel more comfortable about their new learning environment. Thanks to you, I am continuing to expand my technology skills (even while retirement is looming near) and more important, I have observed many teachers implementing technology projects in their classrooms to include wikis and blogs. Teachers are starting to use voicethreads in many interesting ways. For example, ESOL teachers are using it as a platform for students to share their projects orally, thus enhancing listening and speaking skills. Additionally, Voicethread is a simple user-friendly application and I envision increased use of this tool in the future to promote student motivation and achievement. I have asked several (troubled) students to work with me on doing some commenting and their first response was…You mean I am not in trouble and get to help you. One even said…... “I feel special, I never get to do the neat things” which made me happy that I included them.