Vocaroo is a voice recording service and anyone can easily use it by going to http://vocaroo.com/.
Getting Started:
I have created the following video to show you how to use Vocaroo for teaching listening and speaking. Ways of sharing the saved file with others have also been explained.
Pedagogical Implication:
Vocaroo is a great tool if you want your students to practice speaking. Sometimes a recorded speech helps to find out the problem of pronunciation or stress. If the students record their speech and listen to it, they will find it helpful. Moreover, for rehearsing presentation, students can give the speech and listen to it. Therefore, it may help them for improving features of pronunciation and for rehearsing the speech. Students can do this autonomously if they want to check their self-progress. They can also do it collaboratively with their friends.
The teachers, however, can use vocaroo for giving feedback and for creating fun and motivating activity in the classroom.
Advantages:
1. A lot of other recording tools are available, but what makes Vocaroo unique is its easy to use features. It allows to send audio files to email. It is also a free tool. Log in or details are not mandatory to record and send the speech.
2. Downloading options in mp3, Wav formats are helpful if the user wants to keep the recording for his or her own use.
3. The recordings can be easily deleted from the website. Therefore, if the teacher or student is concerned about privacy, this option will be helpful.
Limitations:
1. The maximum recording time allowed in Vocaroo is five minutes. Therefore, for recording speech that is longer than five minutes, other recording tools should be used.
Using in Bangladesh:
1. In Bangladesh, the teachers can use it to give oral feedback. As it can be used for free, the teachers do not need to pay money. For example, after reading any assignment of the students, the teacher can record the detailed feedback and send it to the email of the students.
2. It is a great tool for self-assessment. Students can record their own speech and see the problems of pronunciation, stress and intonation. Students can also work in groups and help each other by emailing the recording and giving feedback. The teacher may form groups in the class and assign task throughout the term for such group activity. A digital portfolio can be maintained in Mahara for assessing the improvement of speaking skill.
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