Web 2.0 and Emerging Learning Technologies/VoiceThread

VoiceThread is a collaborative application that can be used for collecting and sharing conversations anywhere in the globe. People can post photos, share documents, images, videos and add interactive group discussions to any website. Groups are easy to create, you can share a Voice thread with your friends, students, mates or just people you have common interests with.

Members can leave comments in many different ways. You can leave voice comments on videos, or if you want to voice your thoughts, or just comment on specific video segments, you can make drawings while you record your comment to add an extra explanation by just using webcam or mic. All this is possible thanks to its innovative Video Doodling feature.

Anyone who comments on another’s VoiceThread must be a registered user. It is very easy to use, you do not need to install any software and it supports dozens of standard file formats. Additionally, you have the possibility of embedding these archives in other websites and exporting them to MP3s or any other gadget to be reproduced later on as an independent document.

Teaching and learning possibilities

The classroom possibilities for using VoiceThread are extensive. It allows you and your students to collaboratively share your thoughts on video whilst watching simultaneously. It is a great tool for encouraging collaboration in your classroom. Students can create and comment on each others’ projects. This application gives students the possibility of creating digital stories and documentaries in a collaborative way. Additionally, by doing this, they will not only practise their language skills but also know more about other topics, such as foreign cultures and other geographical places, among others.

It holds great promise for the classroom. It allows group conversations to be collected and shared in one place from everywhere in the world, or it can be kept private for selected individuals.

The fact of sharing and creating media projects, may promote great enthusiasm for multimedia creation, Voicethread provides an easy way to listen to, to contribute or critique the narratives of their peers. It is a perfect demonstration of how digital media can be integrated into the curriculum.

Example links

VoiceThread

www.voicethread.com

If anyone is interested in knowing how Voicethread can be used, you can visit this site and watch the examples on the homepage. I encourage teachers to explore specially the classroom tab where you can find many examples of the use of Voicethread in the class.

Doodling

www.voicethread.com/about/doodling

I recommend you to watch doodling in action and you will understand how it works better, or find new ideas to your class. You can visit this page.

Wikispace

http://voicethread4education.wikispaces.com/

This is a link that will take you directly to a wikispace started by Collette Cassinelli in which you can find many contribution made by teachers who have already used this resourceful tool in the ELT classroom.