VoiceThread

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toc =Introducing: VoiceThread =

VoiceThread is a website and mobile app where you can upload images, slides or videos, draw on them, and comment about them. Then anyone else can add comments via phone, chat, voice recording or webcam. A project could have a single image, or as many as 100. There is a public site that anyone can use for 3 free voicethread projects. There is also a pay-for-use education-specific site with extra privacy, controls, etc. This wiki page will focus on the educational version, ed.voicethread.com.

Here is the VoiceThread promotional video from their site. = = =media type="custom" key="23952156"=

Here is a practical and thorough guide with more detail. =media type="custom" key="23948150"=

=Benefits vs. Drawbacks =

Benefits
 * Secure learning environment (teacher moderators, everyone who posts must be invited by a member of the "community", projects stay private until published to "public" status)
 * Students can connect with others around the world
 * Published projects can be embedded in a blog or class website for easy sharing
 * Motivation: published work shown to audience beyond the teacher/school
 * Combines visuals and voice for more learning impact
 * Can comment in multiple formats depending on student comfort or preferences (chat, voice, video)
 * Students can plan discussion answers more thoughtfully than in a live setting

Drawbacks
 * Cost: Individual license is $79/year (up to 50 students). School licenses start at $450/year (up to 350 students).
 * Connectivity issues may make voicethreads challenging to create BUT completed voicethreads can be exported to offline files for viewing as video content.
 * Some of the coolest uses (like having a warm-up where everyone can comment, or flipping your classroom) rely on 1:1 computing or close to it (but there's still lots you can do in a whole class format)

= Advanced Planning =

Before embarking on a VoiceThread adventure with your class, it is key to have a clear objective for the project, and to plan in advance. Here are some suggested steps: **Step 1** – Pre-plan **Step 2** -- Prepare content **Step 3** – Prepare narration **Step 4** – Upload contents **Step 5** – Add comments **Step 6** – Evaluation/assessment

= Example Lessons =

VoiceThread's own digital library has lots of examples sorted by subject area.

Math
Tons of K-7 math VoiceThread projects sorted by grade and strand = =

Language Arts
A collection of book reviews and readings from all ages

Social Studies
A World Map where students can mark their location and add a comment Examples of student-made VoiceThreads exploring a variety of careers = = = Other Sites that Dovetail =

Inspiration to plan VoiceThread projects before beginning Audacity a free resource to record, edit, and clean up audio before posting to VoiceThread OER for images and other Creative Commons resources to begin a VoiceThread project FlickrStorm for images to begin a VoiceThread project

= Resources =

voicethread.com ed.voicethread.com http://voicethread4education.wikispaces.com/Best+Practices