What is VoiceThread?
A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to navigate pages and leave comments in 5 ways - using voice (with a mic or telephone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam). Share a VoiceThread with friends, students, and colleagues for them to record comments too.
With VoiceThread, group conversations are collected and shared in one place from anywhere in the world. (link: http://voicethread.com/about/)
VoiceThread Features:
- Basic:
- Creating a Voice Thread
- Commenting through text
- Commenting through voice
- Commenting through video
- Advanced:
- Comment Moderation
- Telephone commenting (can be expensive)
- Uploading a comment
- Doodling
- Presentations
- Multiple Identities
How can I start using VoiceThread?
First, you will have to make a VoiceThread account. This is free and easy to do!
- Follow the step by step instructions below:
- Go to http://voicethread.com/#home
- Click on Sign in or Register in the upper right hand corner of the page.
- A small window will pop up. Simply click on register on the bottom middle of the screen.
- Next, fill in all the required information.
- You now have a VoiceThread account!
Next time you go to http://voicethread.com/#home, simply go to the same Sign in or Register button in the upper right hand corner of the page, and enter your email address and your password in the pop up box. This will sign you in every time.
Now it's time to make your first VoiceThread!
- There are three simple steps to creating a VoiceThread, once you have an account made.
- Upload - Add pictures, documents, videos, and even PowerPoints by browsing you're computer, adding a URL, or from other media sources.
- Comment - Comment by microphone, typing, phone, webcam, or doodling.
- Share - Share your work with others by either emailing it to them or posting it online for others to view.
VoiceThread Can Do All This:
Teacher Uses:
- In class:
- Students, knowing that their peers will be watching their work, can be motivated to improve writing skills. (link: http://voicethread.com/library/41/ and http://voicethread.com/library/20/ )
- Use Voice Thread to present key concepts in class, like any other audio visual. The information can be reviewed later by students, who can also leave comments as homework if desired. (link: http://voicethread.com/library/42/ and http://voicethread.com/#q+debate.b62960.i326393 )
- Foster authentic writing practice while gathering responses from people in diverse and distant locations. (link: http://voicethread.com/library/10/ )
- Asynchronous debates: pose a question and after organizing their thoughts in small groups, students each leave individual comments explaining a single response to the question. (link: http://voicethread.com/#q+debate.b298862.i1574356 )
- Extended practice (homework):
- Students can be asked to view voice threads about topics introduced in class, then leave comments answering questions about the material.
- Students can do homework questions by leaving comments. The teacher can either allow comments to be seen by other students, providing peer-to-peer assistance, or mark the voice thread as "moderated" so that each student can be assessed for understanding without peer assistance. (link: http://voicethread.com/#q+homework.b197947.i1069983 )
- Sharing with parents:
- Students read aloud their own compositions while the screen shows their illustration or model. This demonstrates what they've learned. (link: http://voicethread.com/#q+2nd+grade.b805509.i4280286 )
- Student led parent conferences (link: http://voicethread.com/library/39/ )
- Collaboration with colleagues:
- Use voice thread as a collaborative questionnaire where all group members have access to each other's comments. Voice thread makes possible more efficient use of time and funding since collaborators can comment at their convenience from the location of their choice rather than having to schedule a physical meeting that has travel time and costs.
- Share information and techniques that are learned at Professional Development opportunities.
- Tutorials:
- Frequently asked questions or often confused information can be explained step by step ONE TIME! and made readily available to students any time night or day.
- Committee work
Student Uses:
- Used to make up missed lecture/class
- Absent students can connect to the classroom even from home! They can simply go online and access the VoiceThread set up by their teacher to make up the day they missed. In class lectures can be experienced as if the student was actually there. This will not only help the students make up work more easily (with a fuller understanding of the content), but it will also help the teacher because things will not have to be gone over multiple times for multiple absent students.
- Commenting on a picture/work of art
- This allows students to give their peers feedback on pictures/artwork. This is very important because students need the input to better themselves. The teacher can also comment on the pictures, giving even more feedback. This is particularly important because the students can access VoiceThread from any computer with internet access, so they can show their parents their progress and work as well.
- Allows for quick feedback on projects
- The feedback can be seen immediately. Like stated above, this feedback can be from anyone who has access to the class VoiceThread (teachers and students). It can also be shared with parents.
- Promotes group work
- Students have to learn how to work together in groups. VoiceThread will help promote this learning style because the possibilities are endless when it comes to class projects! The commenting feature further expands the group work aspect, because students can begin to see connections between their projects, strengths and weaknesses, and work as a team by using comments to assist each other.
- Promotes sense of community
- Like stated above, it connects all students together for a better learning experience.
- Fun tool to use to keep students engaged
- There are many fun features of VoiceThread; one of them being the doodling tool. Students can doodle on their pictures to better explain things and to help convey their message.
- Interactive discussion board
- VoiceThread can be used as an interactive discussion board too! The instructor can post a problem to solve, or a picture to comment on. Students can then add comments to make an interactive discussion board.
- Show and tell
- VoiceThread can be a digital show and tell. Students simply upload a picture of what they wish to share with the class along with a short explanation. The class can then add their comments.
- Pen Pal
- Students can have pen pals and more easily communicate with them. This provides more than the classic writing letters to one another. They get to hear each others voice, pictures, etc. It can be a very interactive experience for the students.
- Take test/quizzes
- It can also be an unconventional way to take small quizzes. Students can all log in and take a short quiz the teacher has set up. Many teachers often have open book and open note quizzes, and this is no different! Students can comment on each others pages to assist them. The trick with this is to use only with small quizzes, not major exams. For major exams, you want to know what the individual student can achieve, not a group of students.
Articles:
- Bomar, S. (2009). A Pre-reading voicethread: death comes for the archbishop. Knowledge Quest, 37(4), Retrieved from http://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=38813475&site=ehost-live doi: 38813475
- The article describes a pre-reading project using the VoiceThread designed to increase student interest in their assigned novel: "Death Comes for the Archbishop." Several advantages of Voicethread over presentation media were given, including 1) ability to upload video and images with pre-recorded voice or text, and 2) increasing the students' engagement with their assignment.
- Sprankle, Bob. (2009). Voicethread. School Talk, 15(1), 4. Retrieved from http://sfx3.exlibrisgroup.com:3210/asu/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=VoiceThread&rft.jtitle=School%20Talk&rft.au=Bob%20Sprankle&rft.date=2009-10-01&rft.issn=1083-2939&rft.volume=15&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=4&rft.externalDBID=SCH&rft.externalDocID=1884218111
- This article offers teachers a host of practical uses for VoiceThread.
Additional Resources:
- VoiceThread tutorials:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr0wod6JZIU
- Miscellaneous websites:
http://educationalsoftware.wikispaces.com/VoiceThread
http://www.edutopia.org/voicethread-interactive-multimedia-albums