VoiceThread is a cloud-based application that allows faculty and students to create and share interactive media presentations. VoiceThread allows users to upload, share and discuss documents, slides, images, audio files and videos. It allows users to comment on VoiceThread slides using one of five commenting options: microphone, webcam, text, phone, and audio-file upload. The result is a digital conversation that can be easily shared with individuals and groups within the course site.
VoiceThread can be used in the following ways in online and in-person courses:
Course Introductions/Ice Breaker Assignment—This type of assignment gives everyone the opportunity to learn about their instructor and fellow students. The professor can configure the assignment by 1) posting their introductory video and having students leave a comment to post their introductory videos or 2) have the students post their introductions to the Course View (VoiceThread folder for the course). The personal connections and physical limitations of an in-person class can be replicated by creating a virtual presence with VoiceThread.
Student Presentations—VoiceThread enables students to record and faculty to assess presentations on their schedule. You can save live class time by having all student presentations posted online via VoiceThread.
Group Presentations—Even when teachers assign group presentations, it might take weeks to complete them all. That means most students are passively consuming information instead of actively learning new concepts. These ideas are core to the rise in popularity of the flipped class, but they apply to every educator in the modern world.
Here is a an example use case of VoiceThread being used to present and discuss medical cases: