Get Your Students Talking with VoiceThread!!

1. Do you have students that struggle with sharing their thoughts and ideas verbally in the classroom?


2. Are you looking for a new and exciting way to have your students collaborate on a topic without causing the anxiety of live classroom discussions?


3. Would you like to give them the flexibility of participating in group discussions on their own time?


4. Are you bored with what you are currently doing to reinforce reading fluency, writing, and speaking skills and would love to try something new that would generate excitement and complete participation from your students?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, check out http://www.voicethread.com/. This free website allows users to upload just about any type of media (pictures, documents, PowerPoints, and videos). Students can then login and start a discussion regarding the media by adding comments. "Not only is that a great way for students to share their learning orally, it provides a platform for students to give and receive feedback as peers, parents, and teachers respond to the project", EducationWorld, 2008. The process of sharing thoughts and ideas around media is called a voicethread. (voicethread.com, 2008).

Participants of a voicethread can leave comments in 5 different ways: using their voice (with a mic or telephone), text, audio files, or video (via a webcam). Participants can also draw or "doodle", as they call it, on top of the media, during their discussion. This is a great feature to use when trying to get your point across (plus the kids will love it).

T0 really get a feel of what voicethreading is all about, as I am definitely not doing this site justice, click the link below, and take a few minutes to watch their overview video that gives a basic description plus examples of how it is being used (make sure your speakers are on!!!): http://voicethread.com/#home.b409.i848804

After viewing the video, go to their homepage and click the "Browse " link at the top. Once there, poke around for additional examples and more detailed directions of how each tool of VoiceThread actually works. It is totally cool!!!

The complete voicethread tutorial has been uploaded to our Software and Equipment Tutorial page for future reference.

If you don't want to create your own voicethread, have students watch and listen to existing ones on topics such as:

• Poetry
• Digital Storybooks
• Math Concepts
• Art History
• Podcasting basics
• Blogging
• Classic Novels (required reading)
• Foreign Language
• Science Topics (global warming, Eco systems, animal discovery, chemistry, solar system)

(the list goes on and on....it's amazing!)

Offer voicethreading as a project option for kids to do on their own. Trust me...they are sick of PowerPoint!! If they don't have a mic at home, doesn't everyone?, have them use their cellphones!! It's very simple!!

VoiceThreading has become so popular in education, that when you Google VoiceThread Lessons or VoiceThread in Education, a TON of resources are listed. Below are just a few of the thousands:

Using VoiceThread for Digital Conversations

VoiceThread 4 Education Wiki

VoiceThread Lesson Plans

If you are interested in doing a voicethread project, please note that you will need to set up an account for all users that does require an email address. Participants must be 13 years of age, or have an account created by their parents. As mentioned in the ePals techtip, you will want to send home a parent permission slip that includes the project topic, how it relates to curriculum, etc.

Enjoy! Need help? Contact me :)