Revision, with Voice

I've been intrigued over the years by how my students respond to using their voice in the public sphere via podcasting, and recently, I have been wondering how to use this idea for the revision process in writing itself. I know Dawn had her students "listen" to rough drafts, and then revise. By hearing their own voices, the young writers were able to make changes on what they "thought" they were saying but were not, and only caught when they listened to themselves -- the critical audience of One.

Dawn writes:

"It wasn’t until he (her student) needed to record that he saw the value in reading his
work aloud, and he additionally listened to his voice, which gave him
insight on his writing and revision strategies. In this way, digital
literacies have become a revision tool for Jonathan. It was when he
heard his voice being played in the recording that he noticed himself
not sounding real or genuine and that’s when he went back to revise the
piece in the print and spoken text in order to have his writing and
speaking show his voice."

Wow. That is a powerful statement for teachers of writing. tI was wondering if others have used this same process -- students recording their work in draft stage and then making revisions upon listening to themselves?

I was thinking about his again the other day, as I was writing a speech that I am being asked to deliver at my school for Veteran's Day. I did countless revisions in writing (in silence, really) but it was only after I printed it out, and read it out loud to myself that I realized how much more work it really needed to achieve some semblance of "flow." I later used Audacity to record and listen again.

The voice can be a powerful tool for the writer, and yet, I don't think I have used it enough in the writing process in my classroom -- only as the publishing point. I need to rethink that.

Kevin