Creativity is a common characteristic for educators of all experience levels. When creating lesson plans and deciding on projects, students like a variety of assignment types. A unit project can often be an assignment in which students can portray their own creativity. During a teaching workshop, one teacher used vocabulary words to express student creativity. The project had students portray their definition of a new vocabulary word. They could draw the definition, create a “wordle” of synonyms, etc. Once the students completed the assignment, the teacher used email to share the projects to students in England. The English students did the same and the students were able to compare how different students interpreted the definition differently.
In the search for a blog topic, I came across a new internet tool that could have helped the teacher communicate easier. VoiceThread is an internet tool that enables students to communicate with other students around the world. It works as a web-based global conversation. Students can “post” a presentation which could include documents, videos, and still images. Once the student has posted their presentation other users can look through the presentation and create comments in the form of audio, video, or text. These comments provide students with not only feedback from the teacher but with students from across the world.
I thought this was an interesting and creative way to spread diversity into the classroom. I encourage you to browse through the different projects on VoiceThread and comment if you find something you like! Have you used VoiceThread in your classroom? How do you feel about this form of technology? Do you see it useful in the K-12 classroom? What about in a Higher Ed situation?
I love VOiceThread! I was introduced to it last year from another ed tech student. He showed us an example of one that he had created.
ReplyDeleteI have not used it in my classroom yet but am working on a project which includes creating a voicethread as a final presentation. I think this is a great way for my young students to receive feedback from others in a safe way. They never have to show their faces and do not have to find specific people to comment on their work. I definately think it is a useful too in the k-12 classroom. Many teachers in my school division have used it and will comment from school to school on each other's projects.
It would be fun to use it in a higher ed situation. Just thinking about our tech planning class Monica, it would be a neat final project idea.
VoiceThread reminds me of all of the wonderful tools that I love about Elluminate. The added benefit is that it is available on the web, so the only technical requirement is a web-browser equipped with Adobe Flash 7+ (presently installed in 99% of personal computers and a broadband connection, according to the site).
ReplyDeleteI also like that everyone has their own name (only first for minors) and it is “an accountable environment where all users on the network are known users, responsible for their content and behavior.” This is very helpful in collecting valuable critiques, as opposed to comments that lack meaning.
I believe my favorite asset of this service is the Higher Ed. and business uses. It would make a very functional team forum. VoiceThread claims that it “makes meetings smarter” and I believe this is true. Almost anything that would be shared in a face-to-face meeting can be shared with this service, with the advantage of being anywhere/anytime the team members are able to comment. Videos, text, and audio can be shared easily.
I was very impressed with the program and immediately began to envision how this might facilitate some of my current PhD research. I like the fact that compared to many of the similar freeware programs out there that this seems (at least on the surface) much more "plug and play" with a much less steeper learning curve. I am looking forward to trying this out, thanks for introducing it to us.
ReplyDeleteI can see VoiceThread being very successful is all areas of academia - from K-12 up to higher education. With younger ages, it's an excellent way to introduce children from other countries and give them a chance to explore different cultures in "real time" vs. reading it in a book or watching a video. For higher education and businesses I envision collaborative projects and presentations with representatives from around the world, in a fun and relaxed environment.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a lot of fun and worth investigating for my own personal use too.
This sounds like an educational version of Youtube. I think this would be a great idea for those on the undergraduate and graduate levels, knowing myself I when I am constructing a project or presentation I would like others input about what they think I should add or take away and maybe they see something that I don’t. Any extra insight can help. Especially if it is done before you turn it in for a grade. The only thing that I would worry about is the plagiarism aspect of it. Is there any way you can stop others from copying your whole presentation, project, or whatever you have posted up to be reviewed by others.
ReplyDeleteVoiceThread is a wonderful tool and has many, many uses! I hope you will explore it. Those of you taking eLearning Design next semester may want to suggest its use when storyboarding your work - you can receive comments from each other, as well as from your 'target' audience or content experts during development.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot to be said about "Googling" and finding new technology that is out there just waiting to be discovered. Thank you Monica for sharing this tool.
ReplyDeleteI did spend some time going through the tutorial and learning how it can be used in different situations. I was struck by the thought that this could be used outside of the classroom.
This would be an excellent tool for long distance collaboration on projects and instruction for businesses and other organizations. My head is spinning with ideas on how we could use this tool in the Diversity Office here at JMU.
VoiceThread is new to me. I just took a few minutes to explore and learn more about it! I think it would be beneficial in an educational environment (K12 and higher ed). I also enjoyed seeing how families shared and commented on old photographs. And, I love the idea of having a child’s piece of artwork and having him or her explain it. While, I love video, I think the simple picture and voice is also a nice keepsake and way to share with others.
ReplyDeleteMany times I feel overwhelmed with technology…there is so much to explore and learn, but I am going to try to remember to keep VoiceThread and wordle near the top of my access list.
I am still hoping to find a fairly easy way to transfer YEARS worth of VHS tapes into a digital format and then edit them into nice little movies/package. I now know about the tools available through the EMTC lab and imovie…but the time commitment seems a little daunting. I plan to take baby steps…and hopefully make some progress!!
Thank you for introducing me to VoiceThread!
Interesting. As I browsed through some of the options with VoiceThread, it seems neat and has a lot of potential, but it's also a little frustrating as a user. For example, I looked at "Diversity" and "APA Style & Formatting Guides". The PowerPoint-type presentation doesn't tell me how many slides I'll see how how long the presentation or audio on each slide will take. If I click on the four-image square, it will stop the presentation and show me all of the slides, but I can't keep track while I'm viewing the presentation. Is there a way to see how long a presentation will take? I don't have an account, so maybe you can see it after you develop an account.
ReplyDeleteViewing VoiceThread, I also see where students have used it in a K-12 situation and the student is video tapped. Do students need to have their parents sign a waiver form before they are recorded for something like this? Has anyone had trouble getting the parental signatures?
I agree with Nina's statement about the youtube feel of this program. It was very interesting to see in action and seems like a great program. I think it could probably be wonderful for group projects where they can meet and exchange ideas especially because it is so visual and so convenient with all of the multiple ways to comment! So a person who is not comfortable talking on webcam or via recording can type in comments or files can be shared and viewed and discussed in real time. Great Program! I like it!
ReplyDeleteI have never used VoiceThread, but I’m not sure how helpful it would be to students in K-12. I think its application would be much more useful in higher education settings, because it allows for feedback from around the world. That could lead to much more insightful projects. It may give students an opportunity to understand differences between cultures which could be an asset to things they are working on.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think its application would always be useful though, even in higher education, because there are a lot of things that students do that might not translate to other cultures. So overall, I feel that it may be appropriate in some higher education settings, just not all of them.