Hello, hello! Welcome to my blog. My name is Julia Moseley, and I’m a first-year English teacher in metro-Atlanta. I graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Science in 2013. After a few years in the workforce, I returned to Kennesaw State University where I will soon receive a Master of Arts in Teaching Secondary English.
The late Rita Pierson gets to the heart of who I aim to be as a teacher in her TED Talk, “Every Kid Needs a Champion.” If we want our students to engage in meaningful learning, they have to know that we care for them, that we believe in them, and that we take who they are into account when formulating our curriculum.
Whether we like it or not, technology plays an enormous part in who our students are, how they see themselves, and how they learn about the world around them. Our students are part of the Tech Generation; that is to say, technology has played an integral part of their lives from the moment they came into this world. As educators, we have the potential to use technology to unlock a level of learning that surpasses what has been done in English classrooms up until this point. The thought of this can be daunting, that’s certain – but together, we can turn our classrooms into a space where our students can use what they know best – technology – to create, invent, and explore the world around them in new and rich ways.
To learn more about me, click here. I used VoiceThread to create a quick synopsis of who I am as a teacher. VoiceThread made it super easy to set up an account, and it didn’t take me very long to figure out how to add photos and narration. What I really liked about this platform is that I was able to add pictures that gave students a glimpse into my life, and more importantly, I was able to add little videos on the margin in which I explain what the pictures mean and tell them a bit about myself.
I love the idea of using VoiceThread as a way to tell parents and students about myself at the beginning of the year. It’d be easy to throw one together and send a link in an introductory email to parents and students. In addition to using it for getting to know one another, something like this could be used for discussing texts, creating presentations, and more; honestly, the possibilities in an English classroom are endless! VoiceThread makes it easy for users to comment and build on each other’s presentations, so I like that this platform lends itself to collaboration as well.
If you’ve used VoiceThread in your classroom, comment below and let me know what you thought! I’d love to continue gathering ideas on how to continue using this versatile tool.
-Mrs. M
The High-Tech Teacher 