VoiceThread is a Web 2.0 Tool that I have been dying to use. It is a place where people can have group conversations about an image, video, documents, etc. You can embed it to other sites or export or even email. You can create a free account or there is also a school licensing subscription that is $60 a year. This allows you to keep it private and gives the teacher access to passwords, comment moderation, etc. I first heard about VoiceThread last year during a professional development seminar that I attended. I am starting a program within my school next year that is for under credited over age students. The number one thing that I want to focus on is keeping them motivated and engaged because this has been a problem for them throughout their schooling.
One way that I want to use VoiceThread in my Humanities class (English and History) is by having them use VoiceThread to create discussion. This would be very useful for homework assignments. For example, if I have some images that I want them to look at they can go to VoiceThread and view the images and then comment. This would be more appealing to them than giving them a packet of images and having them respond to them. This way if they are struggling with what to say they can comment on someone else's comment. They can do this by writing a comment or by using voice. It would also be useful for kids that are absent on a day where video clips or images were shown they can go to VoiceThread and still see the images.
There are many other ways that VoiceThread can be used to create dialogue. The examples above are just some ways in which I want to specifically dedicate time to in my classroom this year.
Here is a short clip of me uploading a picture and using voice to comment on that picture.
Hope this was useful to you!
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