Easi-Speak 128MB Digital Voice Recorder

The fun, playful, brightly colored microphone just screams "USE ME". Right away I felt that this Easi-Speak recorder would be a fabulous tool to help those students who are reluctant to speak. By looks alone, it simply encourages play. Although there are many uses for the Easi-Speak, I find a lot of value just in the basic fact that it helps kids hear themselves by recording them, allowing for storage and replaying of those audio recordings. AND it looks like a toy!Here are a few other ways I will be using Easi-Speak in my classroom: *Student sharing... the child holding the Easi-Speak is the ONLY person talking. :D --- Way more fun than holding a stuffed animal, rock, etc. PLUS it records what they are saying. *Digital portfolios... what an awesome way to track reading {and speaking} progress throughout the year. *Audio input for End of Year DVD... I love the end of the year movies I make for my kids and their families. I also love audio over still photos. I think having the kiddos speak into the mic a few sentences about their first grade year will provide some wonderful recordings to add over their pics in the video. What a keepsake. *Poetry recordings - As part of the kiddos oral language grade, they present a poem every month. I have MANY parents who want to be there when their child presents - but I don't allow them to come in because they just make the kids more nervous. What a fabulous way to let the parents hear their little one present to the class. The kiddos can say their poem into the mic, I can upload it into my computer and then email it to their parents! Love it. *Develop fluency and inflectional reading by recording students while they read, either independently or during running records, then playing it back so they can hear how their reading temperate actually sounds to the listener.It's a pretty cool little tool. I love that is wireless and doesn't require you to put batteries in it. It charges through the USB port on your computer. It's simple. The kids can easily use it without your help.Kids really do love to hear themselves... almost as much as they love to SEE themselves. :DSee my full review @ http://www.dragonfliesinfirst.com/2012/07/fireworks-chatter-and-giveaway.html

I definitely plan on using this to help students with fluency, however, I used it recently for a special little reason. We invited parents in to listen to our moon reports. Since some of the parents couldn't come, I recorded those children reading their report, saved it to my computer, and emailed the recording to their parents! It was so easy and such a nice way to have each child share their writing with a family member.

I love this microphone! My students couldn't wait to try it out. I have used it with Running Records - the kids love to hear their own voices. It really helps with fluency. We have also used it during our Oral Language Sharing Time. The improvement of some of my students is amazing. They have learned to speak up or slow down . . . and have even noticed if they are saying "um" too much. Lastly, we have used this during our Centers time when students are practicing two page plays. It helps them rehearse before they perform in front of the class.

The Easy Speak microphone has been a great addition to my reading program in my classroom. My students use it daily to practice recording fluency reads and poetry. I also pre record the spelling words for students so that they can take pretests during centers. It is amazingly durable! It is a must for any classroom!

I was excited when Learning Resources asked me to try out the Easis-Speak. First, let me tell you that this is VERY durable. I would have no worries leaving this at a center for my firsties to use. (I even let my Kindergarten son use it before I took it to the classroom--he, too loved it.) With the easy to understand on/off buttons, clearly labeled, and lights to indicate that it's ready to record, my students were quick to see how this worked. Another great thing about it is that it requires NO BATTERIES!! I hate how my mimio pen, and projector controllers require batteries--and then I not have them to use. With this, I can just charge it into my USB port on my computer. This is great because I can record their fluency from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. I can keep track of their growth. I used this to record my students during guided reading groups. I wanted them to hear themselves, and monitor their fluency. (One of my students couldn't wait to use it that he asked his mom, a teacher in my building, if she would borrow it before school started. When he listened to himself back, he said, "I need to read a little faster.") During reading groups, when we played it back, they followed along in their books to monitor their fluency. They also realized they made a few "minor" errors. The possibilities of using this are endless. With my classroom, now that they know how to use it, I wold have no worries putting it into a reading center. I could then listen back to them when I got a chance. We also have a play coming up. They could use it to get used to handling a microphone, AND practicing their lines. I can't wait to get my new group of firsties next year and start recording them. I now have a great tool in documenting them. I can show parents the progress that their students have made, and have it in their voice so they too can hear.