Running Dictations (for an explanation, see here) are a great way to reinforce vocabulary and structures, and get students to work collaboratively and in a focussed way.
Having played around with the Drawing tool in Seesaw, and having discovered that you can add an audio voiceover to your scribbles, I decided that I could make this work in the language classroom. If you want to give it a go, here’s what you need to do.
- Tap on the + icon and then select Add to Student Journal.
- Next, choose the pencil at the bottom and write a number (you could pick T and type the number too), then tap on the red record button to record a sentence.
- Tap the green tick to save the recording.
- Continue to make other recordings in the same way, changing the number each time. (In a class of 30, if you divide the class into 6 groups of 5 and produce 5 QRs with linked audio sentences then each team member will get to be a runner.)
All of this can be done on the app but for the next part you need to be on the web version. Once on the web version, tap on the 3 dots at the bottom right of the saved item and choose Get Item QR and then download the QR to the camera roll. Do this for the rest of your saved audio files. The final step is to copy the downloaded QRs into a word processing document to print for classroom use.
How to Play
In the classroom, attach the QR sheets around the room then divide the class into 5-6 teams. Each team needs an iPad and, at least one, but preferably individual mini whiteboards. A ‘runner’ goes to the sheet, scans a code and listens to the recording before returning to the group with the sentence ‘in their head.’ (You could make it easier by allowing the runner to return with the iPad so that everyone can listen as many times as needed.) Then either with or without access to reference materials, the group (or individuals) have to write the sentence on their whiteboards. When they’re all agreed, they put their hands up for the teacher to check.
Hope you give it a try.