Young people need choices, options, and alternatives to explore. They need chances to do, try, explore, travel, and interact. How do you and your students select among opportunities?

Multi-sensory Approaches

Technology providing opportunities for alternative ways of accessing resources. For example, text, audio, graphics, animation, and video are all different ways to convey ideas. For some activities, the auditory channel is important. For example, students learning English as a second language need many experiences listening to English spoken aloud. The article Improving Oral Reading Fluency (and Comprehension) Through the Creation of Talking Books by Grace Oakley examines how student produced audio books can increase oral reading fluency.

Audio options include:

• Interactive stories
• Talking Books
• Books on CD-audio
• Books on Tape
• Audio-enhanced
• Web pages
• Podcasting

Consider the following technologies:

• CD audio books
• iPod for recording and playing
• iTunes for creating CDs
• MP3 Books

Some teachers and students are now creating audio-based newsletters available through podcasting and blogs. In addition to newsletter students can produce:

• Radio shows
• Oral histories
• World language projects
• Audio tours
• Science observations
• More examples at Apple's ipods in the classroom
• Lesson ideas at Apple Exhibits

Explore video and pod casts

• eduscapes bloglines
• US Government Podcasts
• National Public Radio
• Earth & Sky - Kids
• Library of Congress Webcasts
• Bobby Bucket Show! Bucket of Books! - a podcast for kids, parents, and readers of all ages
• Conners Emerson School - notice their podcasts at the bottom of the right column under the current events
• Grandview Library Blog
• High School Biology Blog with podcast
• Mrs. Bradley and Mrs. Mendoza's Class - text, audio, and video blog
• Radio Willow - Colonial Days - K-5 podcasts
• Room 208 - notice the student and teacher produced text, graphics, photos, videos, and audio.
• TechTime with Mr.S - check out the library book talk podcast

Make your own podcast

• Download Audacity (also download the LAME MP3 encoder) and make your own sound files from scratch.

Create your own blog

• Blogger
• Edublogs

Try It!
Start small. Integrate audio elements into Word and PowerPoint presentations. Make your own off-line audio news as part of an in-class newspaper or journal activity.

Decision-making

Provide learning opportunities that involve students in developing questions, investigating problems, and reacting or acting. For example, the Don't Buy It project from PBS Kids provides lots of ideas to stimulate discussion and projects related to consumer awareness.

Try It!
Contact a Government Official as a culminating activity of a class project. Use the US Government Departments and Agencies list for ideas.

Opportunities Essential
“I explore opportunities.”

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