Youth Voices
Area
Reading, writing and literature
Duration
50min
Dimension of the advised group of students
10-30
Specific objectives
-develop communication and writing abilities
-express opinions
-take responsibility for what students write and post
Needed Materials
Computer and internet connection
Software
To interact online with students use:
-online communication platform, such us: zoom, google meets, etc
-tools to deliver the training and working in groups: mentimenter, jamboard, slido, kahoot, etc.
Description
The website Youth Voices focuses on writing. It invites young people to share discussion posts with other young people using as many various genres and media as they can think of, voice their ideas about their passions, explain topics they understand well, discuss issues they have just started to comprehend. Students can interact with peers their own age. Students who complete the tasks receive badges. Since it functions like a social network, students can develop their communication and writing abilities as they express their opinions.
Students have a variety of discourse (ways of communicating) options at their disposal, including brief writing or media creations they can post on their own, other members', or a group's walls, informal daily journal pages where they can free write, record initial thoughts, drafts, express their thoughts, speculate about crucial questions, respond to others' comments, and express their opinions about issues that are crucial to them and their communities, or create portfolios. This platform allows them to write freely with no restrictions due to spelling or grammar. If students want to keep track of their experiences, they’ll have to set up their Youth Voices profile. The con to this app, however, is that each entry must be reviewed by the teacher as students really do have free reign.
The platform also provides teachers with a section offering them tutorials and resources on how to use Youth Voices in the classroom.
The site could be used with students at risk of demotivation because the activities are completely adapted to this kind of students using non formal education methodology and its activities could be adapted to fully virtual or blended.
Procedure on how to put in practice
Duration: 30 min
No of Participants: 10-50
Methods used: discussion, presentation
Communication in mother tongue.
Step-by-step description:
1. The teacher presents the tool to students and gives them instructions on how to use it. The game can be played individually or in pairs. If students work in pairs, the teacher gets students into pairs.
2. The teacher gives students the topic of their writing; for instance students have to write on an open-ended subject like "Describe your journey to another country."
3. The students share and publish their writing to a larger audience and receive feedback from other students their own age.
4. Students can also give comments to students outside of their class. The platform provides excellent opportunities for students to publish work and establish connections with the outside world.
5. Class discussion on the feedback received and how they could improve their writing.
Debriefing question: What advice would you give teenagers who want to improve their writing skills? How can we improve our writing skills?
