Learning Technology Review: Voice Thread - Unit 4

The technology I chose for my review is called Voice Thread. I learned about this while reading the required reading from Tomlinson. I had never heard of it before and just googled it to see what it was. I found an extremely neat resource that I am excited to learn more about.

The website for Voice Thread is really easy to navigate and easy to learn how to use. There are some really short and simple tutorial videos that teach you how to use the program and how to engage others in it as well. You can find the basic tutorial at this link Voice Thread Tutorial. Watching examples of the usage of the program often helps me understand its designed purpose so here is a link of an example of Voice Thread created by a user called Sebastian, Voice Thread Example. This is the link to a Voice Thread I created, My Voice Thread Example

A few reasons why I like this program include how easy it is to use. I am not technologically inclined yet by simply googling the website and watching two short videos I had a good grasp of how to use the program. Another reason why I like Voice Thread is because of how you can engage your learners in the process of it. As the creator of the file I am the facilitator and author but others can jump in and comment orally at different parts of the screencast. Multiple different users can all participate in the same file. What I like specifically, is that it engages oral voice rather than writing ideas. Students and those commenting on the file need to record their comments.

The one reason I can think of the usage of Voice Thread being an issue is that all students need simultaneous access to a computer/phone/tablet etc. The showing of a file can be done by one computer for all to see but for students to engage with the material individually, they need access to their own device. Depending on the context this may or may not be available. Another idea could be to include this as a homework assignment that students can access at home and record their comments there.

All in all, I think this technology output is a fun and cool way to present information and engage your students, beyond just written responses.