How+to+Create+a+VoiceThread

VoiceThread – The Perfect Collaborative Tool to Integrate Language Arts and Science! (Written for Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears site)

By Pamela Burish


 * What is VoiceThread?**

VoiceThread ([]) is an online tool I love because of its simplicity, quick learning curve, ‘use in your classroom tomorrow’ capabilities, and it is free to K-12 educators! VoiceThread can be described in many different ways, e.g., as a visual podcast that starts with an image; a collaborative multimedia slideshow that holds images, student research or stories, audio, and videos; a digital storytelling tool that allows your students’ stories to be shared and commented on worldwide; and an assessment tool for reflections and examining the opinions of others//. "Teachers and students are using VoiceThread as a storytelling tool, a deep thinking tool, a research tool, an expository communication tool, and even an assessment tool" (Dyck,2007).// VoiceThread allows you and your students to collaborate, respond, and reflect on a project by leaving comments to any page within the VoiceThread project in one of five ways, i.e., by using voice (with a microphone or telephone), text, audio file, or video with a webcam. You have options within VoiceThread as well. You can share student research, stories, reflections, and projects with anyone globally or keep them private for just parents or selected classes to view.


 * What Could VoiceThread Do to Enhance Student Learning in Your K – 5 Classrooms?**

Imagine that your students have not only become interested in the polar regions or polar animals due to your expert teaching of this content area but that they are suddenly energized to want to do something about a perceived problem they studied about related to this region. Your students have worked diligently to gather the research, document their findings, create their own images or find just the right image or photograph, write passionately about the topic and then what?

Allow your students to share their research work with friends, family, and other interested individuals such as this first grade class did with polar animals: []

Once students have completed a research project, allow their classmates, parents, and others to critique the work such as what is happening in this fourth Grade class VoiceThread on polar animals: []. You can use VoiceThread as your evaluation tool commenting on student research and presentation.

Consider giving your students a ‘voice’ about an issue such as ‘Global Warming’ for others to comment and add their thoughts. Check out fourth grader Zoe’s example: []

Use VoiceThread to enhance literary skills within your classroom as students create and read fiction or nonfiction books with original drawings and text such as this first grade class did with their class book on penguins: []. If your grade level is studying about ecosystem, put up a picture of the adopted ‘eco-class pet’ on VoiceThread and allow students to create a story about the animals and its role within the ecosystem.

If you are just starting a project, need a way to share what was taught for a student who needs directions presented more than once or for a student who has been absent, or if you will be providing resources for a substitute teacher, use VoiceThread as a way to model the process for your students such as this teacher has done for an Animal Basic Needs presentation on Caribou: []. If you are just starting a topic, you could start a VoiceThread with an image related to the topic and ask students to comment and then add their own created images, photographs, or videos related to the new content and start their own discussions.

Working on student prediction skills? Post an experiment onto VoiceThread and allow students to write their comments.

With time being a premium these days and fewer and fewer parents being able to attend functions at school, how about an electronic science fair on VoiceThread?

You can find seventeen Interesting Ways to use Voicethread in the Classroom at [], VoiceThread Examples in Education: [], and examples of VoiceThread projects per grade level in the resources below.


 * How to Use VoiceThread**

Let us look first at using VoiceThread through the eyes of a third grade student. Perhaps you have shown your students some interesting, age appropriate VoiceThreads already to whet their appetite (See the resource section at the end of examples by grade level.)

When your students first enter the Voice Thread web site - [], they will see three buttons at the top – BROWSE, CREATE, and MYVOICE.

BROWSE: Your third grade students may be allowed to ‘Browse” on their own with some other programs, but use caution in the free version of VoiceThread as some of the verbal comments may have language typically used by middle school and high school students that is not appropriate for younger students. You might try doing this specific Browse: DOG POETRY and two appropriate VoiceThreads will appear. Students can then explore the two VoiceThreads. The VoiceThread will play automatically. [For the ‘organizational/logistical management, you can see that the teacher’s face was the only one used in Dog Poetry - [] and the students recorded their voices using her picture. In Poetry Collaboration - [], the students first drew a picture of themselves and then scanned the pictures in to use so no student identity is presented. Other students used clip art, abstract art or baby pictures to create their ‘identity’ for the VoiceThread collaborations. You can also find appropriate VoiceThread examples and add them to your MYVOICE button. To do this, simply find the VoiceThread you want to use, go to the last slide in the group or SharePage and there will be several options for you to share the VoiceThread. Simply click on the +Add to MyVoice page and the selected VoiceThread will be added to your collection of VoiceThreads.]

CREATE: Your third grade students will soon discover that this button will take them to a place to create their own VoiceThread. Your third grade student will naturally explore once in the CREATE section and find that UPLOAD is the only white colored button and one that turns yellow with the hand shape when they move the cursor.

Once the students click on the UPLOAD button, they have the option to upload their material from one of three sources: MY COMPUTER, MEDIA SOURCES, or URL. MY COMPUTER will allow students use their folder* and once they click on an image and push the SELECT button, it automatically goes into the VoiceThread. MEDIA SOURCES allow you to use images from MyVoice, flickr, and The New York Public Library. Facebook is also listed but not used with this age level. Please remember about copyright laws when using the URL option and MYCOMPUTER option. Here is a link on copyright. that is kid-friendly for your students - []. Students can click on an uploaded picture and move to a different place to change the order of the slides.

[*From the logistical/organizational management side of things, have your students create a folder with their selected visuals prior to going onto the VoiceThread website. You might also have them write out what they are going to say or add as text to their slide OR entire VoiceThread. You might consider having the students create a storyboard prior to working with VoiceThread if they are doing more than one slide. (An example on volcanoes can be found at []) For a downloadable Storyboard, check out this website - []. You might also consider using two free online mind mapping tools to create storyboards – Bubbl.us at [] or Gliffy at [|Gliffy.com].]

Next, students will see 2. COMMENT and when it changes color to yellow, they can either record their voice and type in (or copy and paste a previously written explanation) for the image or video. Under the picture in the middle is a COMMENT button. Click on it and it asks if you want to RECORD (from phone, webcam, or microphone) or TYPE. Click on choice. Say or type comments and then click SAVE. [Logistical issue: There are several short videos of how to set up a microphone for the Mac - [] and for Windows PC - []. Students can use the white pencil to draw around a portion of the image or video as they are talking or writing.

The final button is SHARE. The best option here is to GET A LINK if they are going to share with family or another class. After they click on GET A LINK, they can click on Copy the Link and you can have the link to use in email, on web page, etc. [Logistical issue: Only the creator can edit comments and you may want to click on Comment Moderator box found under COPY THIS LINK. To learn more about this option, go to this VoiceThread video - [].

There are many wonderful step-by-step tutorials for you to learn about VoiceThread. Here are a few to get you started:

· One minute VoiceThread overview: [] · VoiceThread short video tutorials (Highly recommend viewing all of these as needed): http://voicethread.com/#c28 **Tips:** **Use the KISS philosophy – Keep It Simple and Succeed.** Start with one image and allow students to comment on it. When students start on their own small group or individual projects, limit the number of images or videos that can be used. **Take it slow at first –** Start with one class project and work on it together as a class. Then, do a class project where each student does a ‘thread’ or slide. Then, do a project-based assignment with a small group of students working together, then go to pairs, and then to individual student projects. **Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!** – Find the images and videos and create a storyboard BEFORE going to the computers. This preparation time will save you many headaches! **Find Like Minded Educators** - Find other educator who are using VoiceThread and sharing their ideas. Here are some places to start. > >
 * Explore the K – 12 VoiceThread free options and resources: [|http://voicethread.com/about/k12/#]  Like many Web 2.0 applications, you can get a free basic account as well as a VoiceThread Pro account with unlimited creation and advanced features for a fee. However, VoiceThread offers [|free educator accounts] for all k-12 classroom educators. You go from being able to do 50 VoiceThreads with the free version to 500 VoiceThreads with the Pro version. Also check out VoiceThread manuals such as Educator’s Getting Started Guide, Setting Started in the Classroom, and Sharing VoiceThreads at [].
 * Best Practices from VoiceThread 4 Education wiki - http://voicethread4education.wikispaces.com/Best+Practices
 * Digitally Speaking – VoiceThread - []
 * VoiceThread Ning - []


 * Resources**

Kindergarten Storybook - [] Fish Research - [] All about the Human Body - [] First Grade Reading analysis - [] Producers to Consumers, Animal Camouflaging, Life Cycle of a Frog, and other projects - [] VoiceThread – grade 2 weather reports in Mrs. Gardner’s Room [] Weather: Art and Poetry - [] Third grade LA - [] Boo Global Warming – a fourth graders science fair/book report project - [] MacroInvertebrates - [] using vocabulary – similar to Powerpoint but students can respond with questions or comments. Weird Inventions - []
 * Grade K** – VoiceThread in the Classroom – K []
 * Grade 1** - VoiceThread in the Classroom – Grade 1 []
 * Grade 2** - VoiceThread in the Classroom – Grade 2 []
 * Grade 3** - VoiceThread in the Classroom – Grade 3 []
 * Grade 4** - VoiceThread in the Classroom – Grade 4 []
 * Grade 5** - VoiceThread in the Classroom – Grade 5 []

General Resources and more examples can be found at [].