Voicethread is an online Web 2.0 tool that allows users do two things: to share multimedia productions online and to comment on other Voicethread multimedia productions. A basic Voicethread account is free and provides an impressive number of options.
Voicethread has a strong following in both K-12 educational setting and post-secondary. Although Voicethread can be used to have a group of people send a Happy Birthday message to a friend, I suspect it is most commonly in an education presentation setting.
The presentation tool allows the user to upload video, a slideshow or images into their Voicethread. The video features works well for sharing student projects. For example, my students submitted their animation class projects and then I posted the group of projects on a single Voicethread for the whole class to view and comment on individually. It is a very effective method of sharing a set of video file projects.
If the Voicethread is intended to be a single presentation, the user can upload slides or graphics to Voicethread and then narrate each slide using their microphone. It is very easy to edit, delete and rearrange slides and narrations. User can also overlay text on a Voicethread page and add hyperlinks. The next step is to publish the Voicethread. A user can: download the Voicethread, publish to a group of Voicethread users, share the URL with others or use the Voicethread embed code and insert this into a blog, wiki or other website.
There are a few options for how to comment on a Voicethread. A user can comment on a single page within a Voicethread by using a microphone a recording audio comment, texting a comment, or phoning in a comment. Another feature is a Doodle feature which allows a commenter to draw on the Voicethread page an add narration at the same time. This can also be used on a video clip which is useful for visual communicating comments.
Voicethread is one of the best tools I have used for the sharing student work and seeking feedback easily.
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