Voicethread allows you to take “stuff”—and I use a wide-open term because it’s a wide-open tool!—and post it. One thing I really like is their specific education application, ed.voicethread.com. Its info site promotes it as “the absolute simplest and richest tool” for K-12 learners. Focusing on security, accountability, and autonomy, it encourages students to publish their work publicly while restricting comments to educators and educatees, and within that environment to develop their own PLE.
I wasn’t all that enthusiastic about VoiceThread at first glance; the video I started with looked complicated and was very wordy. And I think “wordy” may be a bit of a downside to this tool—it takes a long time to listen to all those words! Of course, the upside is kids producing all those words ([*sigh*] I just need a clone, and I could be such a great teacher.) I have to say, that video—the first one I saw; it’s down at the bottom of the homepage—is the only one I encountered that wasn’t very clear and easy to understand. And there are also a couple of very easy-to-understand, step-by-step "How to Get Started" links:
http://voicethread.com/media/misc/getting_started_educator_mpb.pdf
Another great thing is you can put anything from the web or from your computer into this tool very easily. It also includes, under “Media Sources,” a wide range of stuff from the New York Public library, where I found some terrific images about the Middle Ages and about Chaucer that would make good introductory stuff for Canterbury Tales next week. The kids are making websites; they could include a voicethread link! Or could they embed their whole websites into voicethread?
And the interactiveness is just a hoot. While you’re viewing each slide, you can respond in six different ways: voice recording, video recording, text, audio upload from your computer, doodling on the slide, or, my favorite, call in your response! Yes, that’s right, you put your phone number in a little box, and the program calls you & you can just give your response over your phone. Now, I was playing with this at school yesterday, and you would not believe the group crowded around the computer wanting to comment on their phones! And this was after the bell had rung on Friday afternoon! The downside—to the disappointment of my students—is they only give you 3 free calls, & then it costs a dime for each one (assuming they stay under a minute).
To give you a little demonstration, the Technogals put together a little voicethread showing some ideas on how the tool could be used (as well as highlighting some of our past glories). You’ll enjoy it—and all the buttons are active, so you are welcome to leave some comments of your own!
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