How can teachers better engage students? It’s a common
question that is often asked and I may have found one tool that could help:
VoiceThread. VoiceThread is like a high-tech discussion or as Mary Bart, editor
of Faculty Focus, wrote, "[It's] a collaborative, multimedia slide show
that holds images, documents, and videos." Users may type responses or
they may include webcam videos or voice-recorded discussions. Myra George, an
English instructor from Milwaukee Area Technical College, explained a plethora of
ways in which to use VoiceThread. She focused on two main areas:
teacher-created threads and student-created threads (“The Faculty Minute...”).
Teacher-created threads could be questions posed on a discussion board (and
students would respond by typing or a voice or webcam recording); reading
journals (a place where students can comment on what they've read and leave
their thoughts); videos of lectures (students wouldn't have to respond, but it
could be uploaded as a resource for students); and teachers could prepare
slides with text, images, videos or even PowerPoint slides as a kind of lecture
or a supplemental resource as well (“The Faculty Minute...”). Students could
also create discussion boards or prompts; they could post presentations (this
could be a PowerPoint presentation or other form of slides); or they could even
post a speech (“The Faculty Minute...”). Another suggestion from Bart is to
have a growing lecture because "discussion in VoiceThread is attached to
the lecture itself, which can then be used for the next class, [so] students
are adding to the lecture, which grows from class to class."
However, Bart commented, "Typically, the instructor
loads his or her narrative slides and students can then add their comments at
any point within the lecture." That seems to be the most common use of
VoiceThread, but the capabilities seem extensive, especially if one is willing
to allow the learners to begin threads or lead learning activities. Sometimes
our students have even better ideas than we do, so giving them the freedom to
flex their creative muscles (perhaps even getting into some of Gardner's Theory
of Multiple Intelligences and allowing students to approach a task from an area
of strength) could produce unique results that encourage learning in a way the
teacher hadn't thought of before.
There are some factors that would need to be addressed
before incorporating VoiceThread, however. One of them is the fact that every
user would need an account, so if you were beginning to use this resource in
your course, you would need to plan time for students to register. Secondly, if
you are using the free account, you are only allowed "3 minutes of phone
commenting, 5 VoiceThreads with up to 50 slides each, and unlimited voice and
text comments" (“VoiceThread…”). If you want more capabilities and space,
you would have to invest something close to $80-$100 per year or $15-$20 a
month depending on your needs. (Note: there are other prices for schools and
company subscriptions. See the VoiceThread website for more details.) Thirdly,
there would be a learning curve for participants as there is with any new kind
of tool incorporated into a course; therefore, you would need to plan some time
to allow users to familiarize themselves and become more comfortable with the tool.
Nevertheless, VoiceThread does address some of the previous
concerns of asynchronous learning. Stefan Hrastinski wrote, "If e-learners
seldom meet face-to-face and teachers mainly rely on asynchronous e-learning,
students might feel isolated and not part of learning communities, which is
essential for collaboration and learning" (53). However, Bart wrote,
"Students find that the ability to see and hear their instructor and
classmates [in VoiceThread] improves the sense of social presence of others in the
classroom." Likewise Bart states that it is easier to understand the
nuances of the communication because you are able to hear the voice tones. To
me, those are two major pluses for VoiceThread along with the fact that
"asynchronous communication increases a person's ability to process
information" (Hrastinski 53). That has been a long-known advantage of
asynchronous e-learning; the recipient has more time to process the information
and comprehend the message because the author isn't expecting an immediate
reply. Hrastinski said, "[W]hen discussing complex issues, in which time
for reflection is needed, it seems preferable to switch to asynchronous
e-learning..." (55). VoiceThread can help you do just that and do it in a
way that is more engaging than an old-fashioned written discussion board.
Works Cited
Bart, Mary. "Pump up Your Online Discussions with
VoiceThread." Faculty Focus. Magna Publications, 10 Feb. 2010. Web. 12
Apr. 2013.
<http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/asynchronous-learning-and-trends/pump-up-your-online-discussions-with-voicethread/>.
Hrastinski, Stefan. "Asynchronous & Synchronous
E-Learning." EDUCAUSE Quarterly 31.4 (2008): 51-55. ERIC. Web. 12 Apr.
2013.
“The Faculty Minute:
Introducing VoiceThread with Myra George.” Faculty Focus. Milwaukee Area
Technical College. 12 July 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohGLoaAN2jw>
"VoiceThread - Support - How To - Free."
VoiceThread - Support - How To - Free. VoiceThread, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.
<http://voicethread.com/support/howto/Account_Types/Free>.
