Trying VoiceThread

For my MEDU-6711 course "Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction & Technology" at Walden University, I was encouraged to try out a Web 2.0 tool with which I was not very familiar: Voice Thread (n.d.). I used this program a little bit as a student when I was a high school freshman in 2012; my French teacher would have us record and share Voice Threads of us practicing French. At the time, I absolutely despised using the program because it gave me intense anxiety to record myself speaking another language and sharing that recording with my teacher and classmates, so I avoided the Voice Thread assignments altogether and almost didn't pass the class. Looking at it again with the perspective of a teacher and after more than ten years of added and upgraded tools, I have a much more positive attitude about the program. 

Voice Thread seems to be a highly effective tool that I would use with homework assignments if my school was not a "no-homework" school as it allows students to work independently with out the teacher present while feeling like they are in class with their teacher and peers. For this same reason, I could also see it being highly effective in an online, remote, or virtual classroom setting. Realistically, I am most likely to use this program to prepare for having a substitute because I can share material with my students the same way I would if I were in class and I can post the Voice Thread on Schoology for students to access on their individual Chromebooks so I don't need to rely on the substitute.

One of my classes right now is analyzing works by H.P. Lovecraft. For some of his stories, we read the original story first and then compare it to the For Beginning Readers version by R.J. Ivankovic (2019). Below is a Voice Thread I made that I would use if I were to have a substitute on the day we were studying Dagon (Lovecraft, 2021). I am still learning many of the tools that Voice Thread has to offer and will probably make adjustments to this Voice Thread if and when it comes time for me to actually use it in class.

Click here for Voice Thread

Let me know any feedback you may have by commenting on my blog post. I am anxious for any tips or insights you may have to offer. 

References

Ivankovic, R. J. (2019). H. P. Lovecraft’s Dagon for beginning readers. Chaosium.

Lovecraft, H. P. (2021). Dagon. In Collected stories (eBook No. 2100541h). Project Gutenberg Australia. https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks21/2100541h.html (Original work published 1919).

VoiceThread. (n.d.). https://voicethread.com/