Submitted by Tina L. Thomen

SLM: 521: Telecommunications & The Internet

October 12, 2005

Elective #5

This guide offers resources for integrating sound into secondary English or Reading and Language Arts classrooms. The ability to reinforce textual readings with sound will appeal to many learning styles. Several sites expose students to the spoken voice, exemplifying how rhetorical devices are needed to express both emotion and opinion. These links provide students with opportunities to experience literature by listening directly to the authors, historical personalities and music that influenced various works. The five categories include: current events audio, historical music, poetry recordings, multi-cultural music, and on-line dramatic productions.

Current Events Audio

National Public Radio - This site offers on-demand auditory interviews, book reviews and commentaries on a variety of topics such as Hurricane Katrina, news, politics & society, business, people & places, music, and arts & culture. As an English teacher, I could develop activities to support lessons about persuasive writing and oratory debate skills. The site offers timely debate topics - sports etiquette controversies, the role of FEMA in New Orleans, and current book reviews - that would appeal to our students. Date visited - 10/12/05. < http://www.npr.org/about/>

Historical Music & Context

Library of Congress – With over 30 musical collections, the Library of Congress provides teachers with a vast supply of music to support American literature. Examples include selections from African-American gospels, folk music, Hispanic songs, Civil War ballads, and Native American Pow-Wows. The musical link is located at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/ListSome.php?category=Performing%20Arts,%20Music. In addition to the musical link, many primary historical sources such as slave narratives are offered in auditory format within some subtopics. When available, search by clicking on the “browse by audio titles” within each category.

<http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/index.html>

History and Politics Out Loud – Although not as expansive as the Library of Congress, this site broadcasts famous political speeches such as FDR’s and JFK’s inaugural addresses and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s sermons. Several of the infamous Watergate discussion between Nixon and Haldeman are available. One challenge of this site rests with its coverage gaps in certain decades such as the 1950’s and 1990’s. Yet teachers could still draw from a wealth of examples to discuss rhetoric and oratory skills. Date visited -10/12/05 <http://www.hpol.org/>

UC Berkeley Recordings – This site provides audio of famous Berkeley guest speakers such as Aldous Huxley, Ursula LeGuin, Ralph Nader and James Baldwin. Students could access this site to understand the historical context direct from the primary source. Date visited -10/12/05. <http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/audiofiles.html#huxley>

Poetry Recordings

The Poetry Listening Booth – No other poetry site offers such a comprehensive selection of 150+ poetry recordings. I have used this site repeatedly to support lesson plans and assignments. Simply click on the phonograph icon and “Hear It.” In general, the Academy of American Poets portrays a diverse range of styles and perspectives from classic and modern writers. While searching for other poetry recording sites, few links met my evaluative criteria: free services, direct auditory access, and variety. The Listening Booth surpasses all others and is the first “go-to” option for this need. Date visited -10/12/05. <http://www.poets.org/audio.php>

Sonnet Central Listening Room – This offers a very limited selection of poetry recordings, but the site promises that more are coming soon. The site does list many more online written texts in addition to these auditory versions. RealPlayer software is required and can be downloaded at no cost. Date visited – 10/12/05. http://members.aol.com/ericblomqu/listen.htm

Multi-Cultural Music

Shoutcast – After downloading a free program called “winamp,” teachers can access radio stations from all over the world. The multi-cultural genres include African, Middle Eastern, Asian, Latin, European, and Reggae/Island. In addition, students can listen to multiple radio stations that play diverse styles ranging from blues, jazz, rock, country, instrumental and classical. Date visited – 10/12/05. <http://www.shoutcast.com/directory/index.phtml?sgenre=World>

Online Dramatic Productions

Wired for Books – Developed by Ohio University, this site offers auditory readings of classical works and on-demand interviews with modern writers. Representative authors include a broad array of time periods, styles, and backgrounds: Amy Tan, Toni Morrison, Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, and Tom Clancy. This also requires RealPlayer which is easily and freely downloadable. Date visited – 10/12/05. <http://wiredforbooks.org/>

HarperAudio! – Harper Collins Publishers maintains this site with a limited, yet richly diverse, variety of authors. One can listen to the satirical Kurt Vonnegut or to an adaptation of Anne Frank reading her diary. Some of the classics such as Shakespeare are available as well. These files opened in the “winamp” program. Date visited -10/12/05. <http://town.hall.org/Archives/radio/IMS/HarperAudio/>

Audio Productions: Literature Dr. Richard Nordquist from the
Office of Liberal Studies at Armstrong Atlantic State University created this site to support his rhetoric students. He provides 68 auditory links to many writers such as Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, Mark Twain, British poets, Harlem Renaissance poets and James Joyce. Date visited -10/12/05. <http://www.nt.armstrong.edu/audio.htm>

Virtually American – The drama! The music! This entertaining site adds intriguing and powerful sound effects to the readings. The site contains six basic categories: science fiction/horror, comedy/musicals, detective/suspense, social satire/human jungle, classic radio, and drama/war stories. Specifically, I will someday use the recording of Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart or H.G. Well’s War of the Worlds to express the mood and tone of these famous works. Although selections are limited, the quality is supreme. Date visited – 10/12/05. <http://www.virtuallyamerican.com/>

Last updated 10/12/05