What is VoiceThread?

     VoiceThread is an innovative oral technology that can be used in many shapes and forms in the classroom. Students are able to record their voices or videotape themselves to complete assignments, leave comments, or create projects. Students are also able to retrieve comments from the teacher or classmates on work they produce and upload to the site. This Wiki will focus on the student participation on the site when the teacher uploads an assignment.

How Can I Use This For Literacy In The Classroom?

     For this Wiki I will focus on the basic introduction to VoiceThread and student response to teacher postings. The teacher has uploaded a series of pictures that the students must view and choose one to write a poem about. The students will write a poem about the picture and record themselves reading it as a comment next to it. They will also be required to write written comments to their peers about the poem. This assignment focuses on verbal and written literacy. VoiceThread helps students practice oral presentation without having to be physically in front of their peers. They are also able to comment orally or written to their peers and practice constructive feedback. This particular assignment fosters creativity and some freedom to write personally. BE CAREFUL with student responses to each other's personal poetry and please make students aware of online etiquette.  

How Do I Get My Students Started?

     The following steps will help your students in the creation process of VoiceThread because they must sign up for an account.

Step One: The first picture above is the main screen when students log on to http://voicethread.com. They must click the option to sign in/register in the top right hand corner. After they click on sign in/register the students will see the picture below. They must click register on the left hand side of the page and fill in the information asked of them. The site requires a valid e-mail account and a first and last name. They will have the option later to include a picture for easier identification among peers. The picture feature is simply an option and is up to the discretion of the teacher or parents.

Step Two:  The next page the students will see is the one pictured below. There are many options for them to create, find a page, watch a tutorial, and set up the microphone. A few other tutorial resources can be found on YouTube.com. Here are some important tutorials for students to watch when learning about VoiceThread:

Tutorial video geared towards students

The basics tutorial for beginning users

 An advanced tutorial for high performing students

VoiceThread Example Video

Step Three: The page below is what the students will see when viewing the tutorial on how to use VoiceThread. This is a helpful tool in the creation and response process.

Step Four: After the tutorial the students are encouraged to play around with the software and become familiar with it. They will go back to the main menu and see an invitation to join the class discussion assignment. After accepting the request they will see the following page. They can then comment on any of the pictures and record their poems.

Step Five: When they are done commenting on the assignment and to their peers the students can surf other published works on VoiceThread. They can also create their own VoiceThread for peers and teachers to comment on.

Step Six: If the student would like to create their own VoiceThread they will click on the 'create' button and see a screen similar to the one below. They would need to upload material from a jump drive, computer, or internet in the upload/edit section on the left hand side of the page. After they upload they will see the page below with options to invite friends, send in an email, or copy the link and share. This is where the students will be able to ask friends to join and leave comments on their work.

Uses for VoiceThread in the English/Literacy/Language Arts Classroom

~ Oral Presentation

~ Video Projects

~ Reading Comprehension

~ Reading Aloud

~ Creative Projects

~ Peer Review

~ Group Collaboration

~ Teacher Response

~ Assignment corrections/ Comments

~ Class Questions

~ Etc.

What ages can VoiceThread be appropriate for?

All ages can use this online classroom tool. The account set up may need to be done prior to voice or video record but young students could take it from there.

Strengths and Weaknesses of VoiceThread

Strengths:                  Weaknesses:

Versatile                               Students can see other students' work

User Friendly                        Students can comment freeley to others

Creative                                Students must create an account

Discussion                            Need a quiet space to voice record

Personal                               Need computer with video/voice recording capability or you must set up the microphone

What is the most important aspect to consider when working with VoiceThread? 

 :) Have Fun :)