VoiceThreads

By [|Bill Ferriter]
VoiceThread is an excellent online tool that promotes meaningful conversation through the use of visual prompts such as video clips, images, graphs, and more. This article gives step-by-step instructions to help educators create VoiceThreads that will engage students and stimulate thoughtful dialogue and collaboration.

One of the best free Web 2.0 tools available to teachers and students is [|VoiceThread]. Initially defined as a “group audio blog,” VoiceThread allows users to have ongoing digital conversations built from text, audio, and/or video comments added by small groups of participants around any content imaginable. Some teachers upload PowerPoint presentations filled with quotes, charts, graphs, and statistics for their students to study. Others upload Word documents, provocative images, and/or short video clips. Regardless of the kinds of content choices that you make, VoiceThread has the potential to engage your students and — if you’re willing to find professional partners to play with — to connect your class with students across counties, countries, or continents. VoiceThread has three distinct advantages for teachers interested in making digital communication a part of their professional practice:
 * 1) **VoiceThread is asynchronous**: That means that users can work on VoiceThread presentations at any time — even if their “partners” are unable to participate because they are in a different class period… or because they are sleeping in a different country a thousand miles away!
 * 2) **VoiceThread is engaging**: Let’s face it — the kinds of text-heavy digital conversations made possible by free tools like [|Ning] and [|Moodle] can be pretty boring to students. VoiceThread conversations, however, can be built around interesting images and interactive video content, capturing the attention of today’s visually driven learners. What’s more, being able to actually hear the voices — or even see the faces — of other participants makes digital communication through VoiceThread much more personal.
 * 3) **VoiceThread is easy to use**: There is absolutely nothing intimidating about VoiceThread — for teachers or students! Uploading content is as easy as adding attachments to email messages. Adding text, audio, and/or video content is a matter of hitting one easy-to-find record button. Moderating comments and viewing new contributions to conversations can be completed in two clicks of the mouse. VoiceThread’s simple interface makes it an approachable tool regardless of your experience with digital tools or the age level of the students that you’re working with. [|Click here to continue reading information about VoiceThreads.]

Posted on January 4, 2010 by ritasimsan
Voicethread is a collaborative web tool that facilitates conversation around uploaded documents, pictures, video, or other media. It is a simple yet powerful application that offers a variety of options for communicating and/or collaborating, i.e., text, computer microphone, telephone, webcam, or uploaded audio comment. As with most web 2.0 applications, participants are encouraged to have a digital picture of themselves to upload which will appear around the central document with their oral or written comments attached to it. Those who do not have a picture may use an image supplied by VoiceThread. This is a very popular program among 21st century educators, and many documents and tutorials have been written and shared to help us all get started with it. Rather than re-invent the wheel, I will supply links at the end of this post that I know will be helpful to you. How have I used VoiceThread so far in my adult ESL classes? A favorite activity last semester was centered around a class picture.[|Click here to continue reading information about VoiceThreads.]