voicethread tips
DESCRIPTION
A collection of Top 10 tips for teachers using VoiceThread in their classrooms.TRANSCRIPT
ACollectionofTop10TipsForTeachersUsingVoiceThread
By:BradWilson
Educator&Founderof21innovate,LLC
Learnmoreatabout.me/bradleyjwilson
2011
VoiceThreadisapopulartoolbeingusedinK‐16classroomsaroundtheworld.
Fromed.VoiceThread.com:
WithVoiceThread,groupconversationsarecollectedandsharedinoneplacefrom
anywhereintheworld.Allwithnosoftwaretoinstall.
AVoiceThreadisacollaborative,multimediaslideshowthatholdsimages,documents,andvideosandallowspeopletonavigateslidesandleavecommentsin5ways‐usingvoice(withamicortelephone),text,audiofile,orvideo(viaawebcam).ShareaVoiceThreadwithfriends,students,andcolleaguesforthemtorecordcommentstoo.
Userscandoodlewhilecommenting,usemultipleidentities,andpickwhichcommentsareshownthroughmoderation.VoiceThreadscanevenbeembeddedtoshowandreceivecommentsonotherwebsitesandexportedtoMP3playersorDVDstoplayasarchivalmovies.
CreatedbyBradWilsonhttp://www.21innovate.com
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Usethispublicationtohelpyoumakeinnovationsinyourcurriculum.
Ihavespentseveralyearsresearching,seekingbestpracticesandusingVoiceThreadin
myownclassroom.Ihavefoundittobethemostdynamic,impactfulandeasy‐to‐useweb‐basedprogramavailableinaneducationfriendlyenvironment.Itallowsmetoprovide21stCenturylearningopportunitiesformystudentsacrossthecurriculum.WiththereleaseofVoiceThreadMobilein2011,thisplatformwillbeatrueanywhere/anytimeteaching&learningtechnologytool.
*IamnotaffiliatedwithVoiceThread.**StartingeducatoraccountswithVoiceThreadarefree.However,toaddstudent
accounts/classrooms,moderatecommentsandgetmanymorecustomizablefeaturesthereareavarietyofsubscriptionfeesavailable.Tolearnmorevisited.voicethread.com
TableofContentsTop10…
EasyCurriculumIntegrations…………3‐4
DesignTips………...5
TeachingTips………..6‐7
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Top10EasyCurriculumIntegrations
1.)DISCUSSIONLESSONSTARTER.Postapicture,videocliporgraphicorganizertoactivatepriorknowledgeandhavestudentslog‐inpriortothelessontorespond.Poseanessentialquestionandrevisitthethreadattheendofthelessontocheckforunderstanding.
2.)PEER/GROUPEDITING.Postassignmentsonathreadandhavestudents(whole‐grouporindividually)capturetheirthoughtsusingthecommentingtools.Asstudentsworktorevisetheirprojecttheywillbeabletolookbackatwhatwassaid.
3.)CLASSROOMDEBATE.Thisclassiccritical‐thinkingactivitybecomesanasynchronousdigitalconversationinano‐pressureenvironmentwhenitisframedusingVoiceThread.Postscanbecarefullythought‐outandgroupsofstudentsfromthesameviewpointcancollaboratetouploadtheirarguments.
4.)STUDENTREPORTS.Anysubject,anylength,anyfile!UtilizetheflexibilityoftheVoiceThreadplatformtomakedynamicprojectsandpresentations.Frombookreportstoscienceprojects,thisisamajorupgradefromPowerPoint(andyoucanevenusethose.pptslidesonyourshowifneedbe)!Havestudentsleaveapageattheenddesignatedforpeerandteacherfeedback,anddon’tforgetthatVoiceThreadscanbedownloadedforofflineuseandarchiving.
5.)DIGITALPENPALS.Inagloballyconnectedworld,teachersofallsubjectareasarestrivingtomakereal‐lifeconnectionsandhelpstudentsexpandtheirculturalhorizons.Workonasharedprojectwithyourbuddyclassandwatchstudentengagementsoar!
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6.)POST‐LESSONREVIEW.Facilitatestudentreflectiononwhattheyhavelearnedandcapturethatlearningforfutureuse!Itwillcreatearecordforabsentstudentsandallstudentscanusethethreadasastudytoolforupcomingassessmentsandformakingconnectionstofuturematerial.
7.)STUDYGUIDES.Uploadyour.docor.pdffilesfromyourcurriculumandhavestudentsworkindividuallyorinsmallgroupstosolveandrespondtoquestions.Theywillinturnbecometeachersforotherstudentsastheywatchtherecordings…anytime,anywhere.
8.)STUDENTPORTFOLIOS.Studentscanincludedocuments,pictures,scannedimages,videos,etc.andcreateanarratedshowwhichcommunicatestheirlearning.Foryoungerstudentsthismayfacilitatestudent‐ledconferencesandforolderstudentsitcouldbecomepartoftheirjob‐seekingorcollegeentrancematerials.
9.)NARRATEDTEACHERLECTURE.Whilenotgenerallyhighonstudentengagement,thelectureisacommonmethodofteachingwhichcanbeadvancedthroughtheVoiceThreadapplication.Invitestudentstoparticipateoncertainpages(possiblyoutsideofclassashomework)andusethedoodlertopointoutimportantpartsofaslide.Capturingyourteachingallowsabsentstudentstoaccessthelessonorstudentstoreviewitpriortoassessment.
10.)PUBLISHSTUDENTWORK.Scanit,takeapictureorvideoofit,uploadit…howeveryougetitthereisnotimportant.Sharingwithanyonefrompeerstoparentsinotherclassesorothercountriesjustbecamesupereasy.Studentswilltakeprideintheirworkfromthebeginningiftheyknowthattheyarepublishingtoaglobalaudience.Celebratelearning!
Formanymoreideasandawesomereal‐worldexamples,visit:
http://voicethread4education.wikispaces.com
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DesignTips
Highresolutionimages.ThenativesizeofaVoiceThreadis600X450pixels.Usingasmallpicturewillresultinitbeingstretchedandthereforepixilated.Thisisespeciallyimportantforfullscreenplayback.Videoswillalsobere‐sizedtomatchthethread,sousingvideothatisclosetothenativeresolutionwilllookthebest.
Largefontsizes.Viewersshouldbeabletoreadthetextonthepagewithouthavingtozoomin,sotryatleastsize18fonts.
Contrastcolors.MakesurethatyourtextisreadablebyusingdarkcoloredfontonawhitebackgroundormatchtheVoiceThreadgreybackgroundwithawhitefont.
Simpleslides.PowerPointslidestransferwelltoaVoiceThreadiftheyfollowtheabovedesigntips.Don’ttrytoputtoomuchononepage.Useasinglesentenceorevenasinglewordtostartaconversation.
Formatyourdocumentforthethread.BecauseVoiceThreadconvertsyourfileswhenyouupload,makesuretohavelargemarginstoavoidlosingtexttoanotherpage.Also,tryworkingin“landscape”modeonadocumentsothatitmatchesVoiceThreadlayoutandwillfitbetterinfullscreenmode.
CreatedbyBradWilsonhttp://www.21innovate.com
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Top10TeachingTips
1.)SETTHETONE.Priortogettingonthecomputers,playfortheclassafewqualitythreadscreatedbyotherstudentstodemonstratehighexpectationsforparticipationandreiteratethatthisisalearningtool.
2.)SHOWME,DON’TTELLME.Demonstrateeachactivitybeforehavingstudentslog‐in.Leavetimeinyourplanstouseaprojectortobrieflyshowthestepsfortheday’sproject.Postlogindirectionsandhavestudentscopythemdownsomewheretheycanaccesslater,likeathome.
3.)PREVENTA“MYVOICE”MESS.Clearlycommunicatethatthe“Create”tabisonlyforwhentheyhaveplannedforandarereadytomakeanewshow.Ifstudentspresscreateseveraltimesanddonotdoanythingfurtherwiththoseshows,theystillallshowupasblanks.
4.)TEACHANDPRACTICECOMMENTING.Leavingfeedbackforpeersonlineislikelyanewskillforstudents.Playseveralexamplesandthenletstudentspracticewithyouasawholegroup.Coverthingslikehowlongacommentshouldbe,whatwordstoavoid,andhowtobespecific.UtilizetheCommentingpracticepagesormakeyourown.
5.)ALLOWEXPLORATION.Makeandsharewithstudentsafewsamplethreadswheretheycanexploreallthefunctions,butdonotletthemleavesillyorpointlesscommentsonothers’work.Letstudentscreatetheirownavatar/logosandplantimeforthisearlyonintheprojectsothatitdoesnotbecomeadistractionlater.
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6.)FAILTOPLAN,PLANTOFAIL.Brainstorming,drafting,storyboarding…whatevermethodismostappropriateforyoursubject,makesurestudentshavethoughtthroughthecreationprocessandhaveallthenecessarymaterialsreadybeforeloggingin.Computertimeisprecious,somakesurethegroundworkhasbeendonepriortostartingaproject.Therearetemplatesavailabletohelpwiththisoryoucancreateyourownforaspecificneed.
7.)STARTSMALL.YourfirstVoiceThreadprojectshouldbesomethingeasyandquick,nota10slideresearchpresentation.LetstudentsparticipateinotherthreadsontheEd.VoiceThreadorthedistrictnetworkthatarerelevanttoyourcurriculum.Startwiththemostbasicofdirections,somestudentswillonlygetthatfar.Give2‐3extendedoptionsforstudentsthatfinishwiththeseinitialresponsibilities.
8.)TAKECAREWHENYOUSHARE.TheabilitytopublishandsharestudentworkonVoiceThreadisagreatfeature.Makesureyouhavediscussedwiththeclassthevariouslevelsofsharingandforwhomeachprojectshouldbesharedwith.Remembertoavoidthe“SENDINVITE”button(inmostcases)sothatteachersdonotreceivebulkemails.9.)STUDENTSASTEACHERS.Ateachercanonlyhelponestudentatatime.Ifeverystudentwho“getsit”isabletosharewithafewotherstudents,yoursanitywillremainintact.Designate3‐5helperseachsession;studentsarenottoasktheteacheruntiltheyhaveaskedahelper.Sharehelperswithotherclassesorgradelevelswhenavailable,thisisagreatopportunitytofosterconfidenceinyourlearningcommunity.
10.)TEACH21stCENTURYSKILLS.Whatdoesaqualitytextmessagelooklikeonline?Whatdoespositivepeerfeedbacksoundlikerecordedontheinternet?Whatisanappropriatelogo?Howmuchinformationaboutyourselfshouldyouprovide?Howdoyouciteyoursources?Thesearenotinherentskillsforalldigitalnatives.ModelgoodchoicesonVoiceThread,itisaperfectplacetoteachdigitalcitizenshipasstudentscreate,communicate,collaborateandshareontheweb.