VoiceThread+Review

Return to Creative Web Tools Overview ** Voicethread

Move over PowerPoint, entering VoiceThread. VoiceThread, while slide based, takes creating presentations to a new level. Now capture documents, images, video within the slides of your presentation; add personal comments to accompany content; and collaborate with other users via cloud computing. Use the following link to lead to an option to "Watch An Overview" video: ** [] **How much does it cost?**

VoiceThread offers an Educator Free Account, but of course a premium version is offered. The pricing for students was a little unclear. One page asserted that "Our Free account has no limits on participation and no one will ever need to pay anything to view and comment on a VoiceThread" but "does have some limitations on VoiceThread creation" ([]) whereas the pricing guide equated student accounts with a class subscription cost ([]). Another hidden cost to consider would be the purchase of microphones to use to record student comments. Although, computer microphones are not mandatory to use the program and are relatively inexpensive; Newegg.com offers a cheap version for $4.49 []

**User friendly?**

VoiceThread offers a strong help section not limited to an "Educator's Getting Started Guide" under Manuals and multiple tutorial clips. However, most kindergarteners are not reading the manual. Without watching a tutorial, how easy is this program to utilize? A cold- turkey attempt at using this program: The CREATE tab simplifies the process to three choices: Upload, Comment, Share.

UPLOAD proffered three sources from which to borrow the content of the thread. Experimenting with the "My Computer" UPLOAD option, I attempted to upload a pdf, a jpg, a docx, and a PowerPoint file relatively at once. While the PowerPoint download significantly slowed down the upload (to approximately 5 minutes), impressively VoiceThread handled the PowerPoint upload by adding each slide separately, a pleasant surprise.

The COMMENT feature allows the user to add multiple comments on a per page/slide basis with multiple identities via multiple input methods: keyboard (typing), microphone, webcam, phone, or uploaded audio file.

SHARE allows students to invite others who have approved VoiceThread accounts to either collaborate (edit), comment, or view only. It appeared that a non-VoiceThread user would be able to view the Thread only if given the Link with the "Get a Link" button. (To experiment, I unsuccessfully tried to add my non-user husband's e-mail address to the contact list.) SHARE seemed to be the tab on which to watch a tutorial. Otherwise, VoiceThread seemed very self-explanatory.

To maximize this Web 2.0 tool, watch the demos and be prepared to be blown away by VoiceThread's capabilities. The self-exploration above scratches the surface. Significantly undiscovered was the Doodle feature and the ability to upload videos that can be paused, played back, and doodled upon: [] The doodle feature not only allows you to mark up the content of your thread, doodling will appear in the published form as if the user is currently drawing, capturing the process. VoiceThread also allows you to embed Threads into a plethora of Web spaces.

**Educational Considerations:**

VoiceThread offers students amazing and seemingly unlimited multi-media capabilities for creating and presenting knowledge. It seems VoiceThread was created specifically for education and integrating VoiceThread into the state-mandated curriculum relatively painless. Moreover, VoiceThread placed a sizable amount of energy into creating a safe and secure network for students in grades K-12. Ed.VoiceThread requires that every account be verified to assure all users are administrators, educators, or students thus creating a safety net for students to connect with strangers around the world.

__Digital storytelling__: With an account allowing you to add multiple identities, each identity could be a character in a student-created piece of fiction.

__Recording Mathematical thought__: Math homework papers often elicit from the teacher the unspoken wonder, "Does this paper (especially with answers only) truly represent the student's work and the student's proficiency with the math?" With VoiceThread students have the ability to work out a problem with the doodle feature and capture their thought process with the comment feature. A Canadian math teacher Cal shared in a NCTM presentation that when he requires a student to use VoiceThread to record a lengthy math problem, other students are required to comment and "perfect" that work.

Any document, any typical presentation, any picture, any video could have a VoiceThread makeover promoting the student to articulate their thinking or to create a verbal presentation to accompany the content.

In the event that free accounts for non-educators only permit students to comment and view threads, an educator free account does allow uploading content to slides. Therefore the teacher could create the progression of slides with content purposefully withholding commentary and then have students either in groups or individually add through the comment feature either the storyline or the information to support the content. Creating duplicate threads and titling by group name/subject may be necessary. Then comparing and contrasting the gamut of student responses to the same thread would be an intriguing whole class discussion.

The Help forums includes a specific discussion board called "VoiceThread U." created to encourage networking between different schools, classes, teachers and to record VoiceThread best practices for education. The forum is currently quite weak, but a start in the right direction for VoiceThread. Below find a link for a MindMeister Map on VoiceThread and its classroom possibilities: []

Photos taken with Jing.