MEDIA/TECHNOLOGY TOOL: AUDACITY

MEDIA/TECHNOLOGY TOOL: AUDACITY

            Audacity is an example of a free, open source audio software https://www.audacityteam.org/. The technology tool is available for use on many operating systems. The teachers that have commented on Common Sense Media endorse Audacity for digital storytelling, fluency recordings, and music editing (Common Sense Education, n.d.).

            Digital storytelling and music editing enables students to demonstrate their learning using tools that allow for the creative expression of ideas. The ISTE-Student Standard (6) states the importance that students communicate and express their ideas using a variety of platforms and tools (International Society for Technology in Education. 2016). Students as creative communicators enables students to embrace their creativity and simply record audio messages or use audio to reach out to a wider audience online. Most students are interested in music and videos, many of them also have the career goal of musician or DJ. Incorporating music or audio recordings as part of their assignments engages students in a way that basic pencil and paper test do not. It also enables students to reach a much larger audience outside of their classroom walls.

In addition, for those students that are in foreign language classes or ESL classes using an audio program to assess fluency and pronunciation is invaluable. The audio program eliminates the need for the teacher to sit down individually with each student to assess their fluency. Instead he/she can listen to the entire class quickly with the touch of a button and then differentiate their instruction based on what they hear. The performance assessments can be used to assess if the student has met their learning goals for the standard.

Overall this technology tool has many positive reviews and is free and open source. Many of the reviewers’ state that there is a learning curve when using this software and instruction needs to be provided to students. Experimenting with audio recording is not something that most math teachers do in their classroom, but it would be interesting to have students explain their thought process when solving a math problem which is also one of the eight math practices.