Voice Thread at USD

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. 

1. Sign in and try it out
   • Navigate to  http://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.
2. 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.
3. Sign up for training from ITS
   • If you think VoiceThread may be a fit for your teaching, consider a formal training option from ITS Training Services. To view the latest schedule, visit http://sandiego.edu/its and find the link to the VoiceThread training offerings.

Once you have decided to use VoiceThread for your class, it’s important to think how you will ease your students into properly using the application. While it helps that VoiceThread is easy to use, you still want to provide ways for them to acclimate to the tool in a way that won’t overwhelm them in their first assignment and promote good practice in usage.

1. Bombarding Students to Use Voice Thread
2. Best Practices for students making comments
3. Creating slides from PowerPoint
4. Setting and commenting on slides

Bombarding Students to Use VoiceThread

When introducing a new technology for students to use, it’s important to make it as ‘invisible’ as possible so they don’t view it as a barrier to their learning. Even with a tool as easy to use as VoiceThread, there are a few simple things you can do to make the transition to using it even easier.

1. Create a “low stakes” VoiceThread for students to try before moving on to bigger things.
   • Try creating a VoiceThread in which you simply require students to make a comment in which they state their name and their major. In making their comment on this ‘practice’ thread, have each student:
   • Make the comment via microphone, webcam or phone. Remember, the idea is to get students accustomed to commenting via VOICE.
   • Upload a picture of themselves as their VoiceThread avatar. Being able to see a picture of the instructor as well as their classmates helps foster a sense of community.
2. Be sure to refer students to http://sandiego.edu.
   • However you communicate with students, be sure to have the URL to this site available to them. Whether it be in your syllabus, in Blackboard, your course webpage or other, be sure to point them to this site. Point them specifically to the Quick Start guide for students and the FAQ page.
3. Follow up to ensure your students ‘got it’ the first time they try VoiceThread.
   • It’s important to check in VoiceThread to ensure students commented the way you intended on a first assignment. Don’t settle for a headnod or lack of questions about the assignment to determine that all students were able to use VoiceThread properly. Go into the VoiceThreads and check. This will help eliminate issues in future assignments where students claim they ‘were’t sure how to use’ VoiceThread.

Best Practices for Students Making Comments

Comment Moderation allows you to review all comments before allowing others to see them.

1. Have students comment using their voice! 
   • It may seem obvious but this point can be lost very quickly, so don’t let it. When requiring students to comment on a VoiceThread, require them to make the comment via voice. The easiest is the microphone comment but they can also use the webcam or, if they have technical issues with those two methods, they can use the phone commenting feature.
   • Student VoiceThread responses often model the mode in which the first comment was made. So if the first student responds using the text comment, there is a good chance the following student commenter's will also use text. While the written word is not a ‘bad’ form of commenting, it does not take advantage of the strengths of VoiceThread.
2. How best to comment on a comment
   • While VoiceThread allows for commenting on the media in a slide, it does not allow for a true threaded discussion. But you can still easily facilitate student-to-student interaction by encouraging students to respond classmates’ comments by beginning with such phrases as:
     • “To respond to [student name]’s comment, “
     • “In listening to [student name]’s story…”
     • “I feel that [student name]’s comment…”
3.  Encourage doodling
   • Be sure to encourage students to use the doodle tool whenever appropriate. Too often, this feature is overlooked in comments especially by students. The doodle tool is easy to use and is a very effective method of enhancing the communication of a comment.

Creating slides from Power Point or Keynote

While you can import a PowerPoint file (.ppt) directly into VoiceThread, we recommend that you do not do it that way. Doing the import directly from PowerPoint may cause your slides to scale incorrectly, especially if you have images or illustrations in your slides. Instead we recommend converting your presentation to a PDF.

• Save your .ppt file as a .pdf and then import it into VoiceThread.
• From one pdf, each slide of your PowerPoint will import as separate slides in your VoiceThread in one easy step.
• Be sure to view each slide to ensure it imported as expected.


Setting Up and making comments on your VoiceThread

• Be sure to give your VoiceThread a title. This will help manage your VoiceThreads as you create more of them in the future.
• Give each slide a title. Again, this helps with organization as your VoiceThread content expands.
• Make comments one slide at a time.
• Only use multislide commenting to compare and contrast slides.

There are four simple steps to using VoiceThread in your courses:

1. Adding VoiceThread to your course
2. Setting up your VoiceThread link
3. Waiting for students to submit work (if you’ve created a graded assignment)
4. Grading student work (if you’ve created a graded assignment)

Adding VoiceThread to your course

• 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.

Setting up your VoiceThread link

 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.

Waiting for students to submit work 

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.

Grading student work 

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.

What is VoiceThread?

VoiceThread is an application that runs inside your web browser, so there is no software to download, install, or update. VoiceThread allows you to place collections of media like images, videos, documents, and presentations at the center of a conversation. These conversations are not live; they take place whenever and wherever it is convenient for people to participate. A VoiceThread allows people to have conversations and to make comments using any mix of text, a microphone, a web cam, a telephone, or an uploaded audio file.

Getting Started with VoiceThread

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. 

Additional Resources 

VoiceThread provides additional support tutorials at http://voicethread.com/support/howto/Basics/