Voice Thread is a collaborative tool that elevates and extends learning engagement and participation. It's web based, integrated into Blackboard and enables instructors and students to cultivate asynchronous discussions by enabling users to comment using any mix of text, microphone, web cam, telephone audio or uploaded audio file.
Voice Thread can enable a new dimension to course related discussions. It offers a natural online interaction for students to present, defend and share their opinion in a more authentic means that text alone. Intonation and voice patterns convey information that can be missed or misconstrued in a text based markup.
The application makes it easy for users to add voice annotation to documents, slide presentations, videos and photos. Commentators can add remarks by means of microphone, webcam, keyboard, or telephone. The resulting “Voice Thread” contains the original media with the added commentary and discussion.
Instructions
Sign in and try it out
- Navigate to https://voicethread.com and sign in with your USD One account or access Voice through Blackboard via "Tools". You can view tutorials for step by step instructions. After logging in create your first VoiceThread by uploading different types of media. Other things to try:
- Use the doodle tool to draw on an image.
- Embed a VoiceThread in your sandbox.
- Share a VoiceThread.
Review Examples
- After getting a grasp on the functionality, it’s a bit easier to visualize how you might use it in your course. You can view the VoiceThread Digital Library or current case studies of Penn State faculty for ideas on implementation.
- Think about the various learning opportunities that may match up for what you do in the classroom. Activities such as reflection, collaboration, peer discussion, content presentation and more are all possible.
Sign up for training from ITS
If you think VoiceThread may be a fit for your teaching, consider visiting VoiceThread training offeriings.
Instructor Guide
- Adding VoiceThread to your course
- Setting up your VoiceThread link
- Waiting for students to submit work (if you’ve created a graded assignment)
- Grading student work (if you’ve created a graded assignment)
- Navigate to your course.
- Open a content area”.
- Select “Voice Thread” from the “Tools Menu”.
- Give the activity a title.
- Check the box that says “Enable grading”.
- Select time and date restrictions if necessary
- Save changes.
After you have added VoiceThread to your course, you’ll need to decide what you want students to see when they click on that link. Start by clicking on the link you’ve just created and selecting the option you’d like to use.
- Course View: Display the collection of VoiceThreads that have been shared with your course. Anything that has not yet been explicitly shared with your course will not appear here.
- Individual VT: Display any VoiceThread that you have created. When students click on the link, they’ll see only this one VoiceThread.
- VT Home: Display all of a student’s VoiceThread content in a single view. This includes all VoiceThreads and all courses that belong to them.
Create a graded assignment for students to complete. You can require them to create a VoiceThread of their own to submit, to comment on a VoiceThread you’ve created, or simply to watch a VoiceThread start to finish.
After you’ve selected the type of assignment you’d like to create, you’ll be walked through the steps to complete the setup process. You can include a description for your assignment, select a VoiceThread you’ve created for the Comment or Watch Assignment, and even require a specific number of comments for the Comment Assignment.
When students click on the link for a graded assignment, they will see the assignment you’ve created. They can immediately create or select a VoiceThread to submit for the "create assignment", record comments on your VoiceThread for the "comment assignment", or watch the VoiceThread for the "watch assignment". As soon as they click on the “Submit Assignment” button, you will be able to grade their work.
When you’re ready to grade a VoiceThread assignment, simply return to your course and click on the VoiceThread link again. This will display the grader.
Click on a student’s name on the right to see that student’s submission. You can click on each comment below his or her name individually to jump directly to it. Enter a grade on a scale of 0-100, and hit “Enter” on your keyboard. This grade will immediately be entered into your LMS course gradebook.
- Note: If you have set the assignment to be worth less than 100 points, still grade it on a scale of 0-100, and the score will be adjusted accordingly in your gradebook.
- If you have students who have not yet submitted their assignments, click on the “Remind” button to send them an email reminder.
Student Guide
Your MyVoice page is like your e-mail inbox. It holds all of the VoiceThread conversations that you create, participate in, or have subscribed to (which is like bookmarking). Each VoiceThread on your MyVoice page is represented by a square thumbnail image, and each one is its own virtual conversation space filled with media.
You may already be part of the course group, but if not, find the sign-up link provided by your instructor and click it. After you sign in, you will automatically become part of the course group, and its name will appear on the left hand side of your MyVoice page. Click on that name to see the work being shared by the group. To share any of your own VoiceThreads with the group, just click on a VoiceThread and drag it onto the group's name on the left. Your VoiceThread will instantly be shared with everyone in that group.