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This blog post describes how to set up Google Voice for students to use in classroom assignments or homework. It's a very low tech demand on students; all they need is a phone. The teacher would have easy, computer access to a virtual voicemail archive of all the student messages. It's probably easier than using VoxoPop and seems like it would be pretty easy to make spoken homework assignments a reality, plus there are probably some neat in-class applications as well.

This article discusses the different ways that you might use QR codes in the classroom. There is also a tutorial video explaining how to create qr code stickers that students scan to recall what homework they are assigned.

VOA Special English has high-interest stories for language learners that are spoken at a slightly (sometimes more) reduced rate with clear enunciation. I've enjoyed pulling stories off of here for multi-level classes of ESL adults who want to learn more about America. A word of caution, not all stories are totally g-rated (a current story on Rihanna is not something I would use with PIE students). One advantage of VOA is that many stories have full or partial transcripts available as a resource. Many stories also have built in language activities that students can do on their own during class or as homework. While I sometimes find the reduced pace of VOA special English falling short of authentic, overall, I think this is a useful resource for teachers.

The VOA special English was widely used by Chinese English learners years ago. VOA does not only has a slow pace but also uses only "high-frequency" words. Maybe less authentic, but a good resource to start with.

This website allows you to create a free audio dropbox on any webpage where students can record and save audio files for their teacher to retrieve. Could be very useful for speaking homework assignments, rather than relying on a third party website such as voxopop.

Funded by the NSF, contains digital versions of children's books from all over the world. There are books in many languages, some with translations. Searchable by region, topic, and level. Could be assigned as extra reading homework, or used for projects.

"These video chapters and web resources will assist students with their written and verbal communication skills. Content areas included are grammar, composition, and mechanics from Kindergarten to Grade 12." This site can also help supplement classroom material for students still in the k-12 grades who need to get better at their English language proficiency. This could especially be helpful for students who enter the American school system who speak a different L1 at home.

I stumbled upon this resource while researching the tools and techniques used by a school that I'm applying to teach for.The Reading Assistant is based on speech recognition technology that helps students practice reading aloud (pronunciation) and answer comprehension questions (reading and critical thinking skills). From what I can tell, this paid software is available online, for maximum student convenience. After students complete assignments, teachers receive reports on students' performances. The program claims to have 300 graded readers that align with  US Common Core standards from elementary to high school. To me, the capability of this program to "listen" to students' pronunciation and provide help and individualized feedback is its greatest advantage. The inclusion of a variety of resources for developing vocabulary and work knowledge are also important points for me. Overall, this looks like a useful resource for K-12 schools that want to supplement classroom reading instruction.

The New York Times has a blog named 'The Learning Network'. They post several activities everyday. These include cloze texts, multiple choice reading comprehension questions, puzzles and videos with discussion questions. They also have a word-of-the-day page where they post a new word everyday with its meaning and a sample sentence. I check their page from time to time to see if any of the activities would be appropriate for my students. You can also assign them as homework or students can work on them on their own.

Google voice is a resource that can potentially be used in listening and speaking classes. Essentially, it allows the user to associate a phone number with one's Google account. From there, the user can record messages that the caller will hear when he/she dials the phone number. In a Listening and Speaking context, access to recorders for classroom use may be limited at times. However, many learners have cell phones. To complete a listening and speaking task, during class or for homework, learners can call the phone number, listen to the task, and record their responses. Many concerns with Google Voice arise, however. Most notably, the quality of the recording may be muddy. That is, learners may have a difficult time comprehending the recorded message they hear when initially calling. Additionally, the messages recorded by the learners can be difficult for the instructor to understand. Also, whereas recorders allow learners to confirm that their speech has been recorded, on Google Voice, the learners simply hang up and receive no such confirmation--unless the task is done in a classroom setting whereupon the instructor has the list of messages available. Moreover, the learners are not able to listen to their messages or the messages of other students in the class if they are not logged into the instructor's account. As far as the positive attributes, Google Voice attempts to transcribe messages, and while the transcriptions are not always accurate, even when transcribing messages from native speakers of English, the transcriptions are interesting to read nonetheless. Possibly giving learners an incentive such as extra credit for a perfect transcription due to their pronunciation is an option. Additionally, Google Voice does allow the instructor to download the messages if desired, so saving the files is possible. As far as identifying the callers, each voice message is accompanied by the phone number, so collecting students' phone numbers is probably