VoiceThread as a Classroom Tool
What is a VoiceThread?
VoiceThread is a great slideshow tool that teachers can use in their classrooms and to collaborate with other teachers. In this online tool, you can add images, documents, and videos, and even draw on your slideshow. Your viewers can leave you comments in 5 different ways (by using a computer microphone, telephone, audio file, text, or a webcam). This way everyone can comment on the same slide and you can get input from all of your viewers. Your VoiceThread presentations can easily be embedded into a website and shared with individual security settings, so you can control who you want to share your work with. Teachers can use VoiceThread presentations in many different ways, from collaborating with colleagues about lesson plans and ideas to accompanying a lesson in class to using it as an at-home reference or assignment for students.
How can it be used in a classroom?
Teachers of students in upper elementary school (grades 3-5) can use VoiceThread as a presentation tool in their lessons. Students in these classrooms can work in groups to create their own presentations and comment on each other's ideas. Since VoiceThread has so many different media options for the slideshows, students are able to be as creative as want in their presentations.
The main goal of this page is to help teachers learn about how a new technology can be implemented into their classrooms. To help you reach this goal, here are a few intermediate learning goals:
1. Create a VoiceThread account and be able to access it.
2. Begin a new VoiceThread presentation.
3. Add images, other documents, and videos to your presentation.
4. Make a few comments on your presentation using two different methods, such as a video comment and a text comment.
5. Share your presentation with others, by embedding it in a website or emailing them a link to your work.
Here is a video from a fellow teacher highlighting how he has been able to effectively use VoiceThread in his own classroom.
The main goal of this page is to help teachers learn about how a new technology can be implemented into their classrooms. To help you reach this goal, here are a few intermediate learning goals:
1. Create a VoiceThread account and be able to access it.
2. Begin a new VoiceThread presentation.
3. Add images, other documents, and videos to your presentation.
4. Make a few comments on your presentation using two different methods, such as a video comment and a text comment.
5. Share your presentation with others, by embedding it in a website or emailing them a link to your work.
Here is a video from a fellow teacher highlighting how he has been able to effectively use VoiceThread in his own classroom.
How to use VoiceThread:
Below is a tutorial video on how to use VoiceThread as well as step-by-step instructions that can be downloaded and printed.
Download VoiceThread instructions.
Examples of using VoiceThread:
4th and 5th Grade Presentations!
With VoiceThread, students can make presentations to show off what they've learned about a specific country or talk about a family tradition. Classmates can watch these presentations and have discussions about how they compare to the country they studied or their own family tradition.
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Class Discussions for 3rd Graders!
VoiceThread can be used to have discussions about state political and economic ideas. A question or prompt would be given and each student would be given the opportunity to use VoiceThread to make comments about that idea during a given time period. Then the presentation can be played back so everyone's voice is heard. There is an opportunity for even more discussion afterwards!
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Group Projects in 3-5!
Students can work together to create a VoiceThread presentation about a variety of topics. Students might make a presentation about a science project they did in class or an animal they studied. Each student will be able to add their own comments about the project and present their VoiceThread to the class.
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If you liked learning about VoiceThread, you may also enjoy learning about these other tools:
(Clicking on the title will take you to the recommended page)
SMART board
Image Courtesy flickCC
SMART boards are interactive whiteboards that can be connected to your computer. With this handy technology, your finger is the mouse. Everything you can do on a computer you can do on a SMART board. Students will have fun interacting and learning with this technology. SMART boards make presenting and commenting on VoiceThreads easy by allowing students to simply touch their way through a presentation and adding their ideas along the way.
PowerPoint
Image Courtesy macworld.com
PowerPoint is a slideshow presentation tool. With this program, you and your students can create slideshows about any subject. Just like with VoiceThread, teachers can use PowerPoint to organize ideas and teach a lesson. Students can work together to create a presentation about any topic or experience with PowerPoint.
Prezi
Image Courtesy wikipedia.com
Prezi is yet another presentation tool. This online program is an awesome way to personalize your presentation. Like VoiceThread, Prezi can be used by teachers and students to convey ideas and give information to others. Prezi allows you to add images, videos, and links and organize them to teach any sort of lesson. Students may use Prezi to collaborate on a presentation, just like in VoiceThread.