Voicethread

Voicethread is an online tool that works through the web browser, for uploading images, slides, videos or PDFs and annotating, recording, or having asynchronous audio, video or text-based discussions nigh them.

Hither are some examples: a demonstration of interactive Voicethread, a class lecture, a video-based declaration, and a student group activity.

You can even provide an introduction, insert text comments with a link to a YouTube video. Here's an example. (Note: importing YouTube videos is no longer supported, but you can link out to them via text comments)

Information technology is possible using Voicethread to have asynchronous role-playing, contend, dialog, group presentations, analysis of images or other media, and Q&A.

As you can see from the examples, Voicethreads play in a browser window by link (much like a YouTube video), and they exercise not require downloading, exporting, or re-uploading after you lot make farther changes. The links you lot create to Voicethread presentations tin can persist from semester to semester, year to twelvemonth.

UMB has an enterprise site-license and so getting started is easy.

SSW Faculty Quote

"It was surprisingly And so easy! I couldn't believe I was able to practise it all in the very first pass, and better yet, I did it all from my phone! Thank you, the tutorial was fantastic."

To get started: go to https://umaryland.voicethread.com and log in with your UMID and Duo. (It's possible if you are already logged in to other campus systems, you volition be logged correct in.) If yous have a previous business relationship associated with your @ssw email address so y'all volition demand to consummate the following:

    1. If y'all accept an existing personal Voicethread business relationship with a UMB electronic mail accost, yous will be asked to verify your account via email. Click the VERIFY BY Email push button.

2. You will then demand to verify the account via electronic mail. Launch Outlook and answer to the Voicethread email.

There is also a Blackboard integration, which allows yous to exercise create course groups, add voice threads directly into your course, and do grade Voicethread assignments. More information on that is hither. Note: this website is all the same existence implemented and in development. Please annotation: if you utilise the Blackboard integration, information technology may limit access to your threads to Simply the people enrolled in the Blackboard form, and they may access them only from within the course. You may want to bypass that and utilize the info below to create your threads and share them with students instead. The Blackboard integration is wonky and nosotros are not recommending it at this time.

The iv bones steps of Voicethread presentations are: Create > Add together Media > Comment > and Share .

Click Create to create a new VoiceThread presentation. Before y'all add media, nosotros take some recommendations for slides you may add beneath:

Preparing Your Slides for Voicethread

If y'all are going to add slides into a bare thread that we created for you, here's how:

    1. First, consider removing things that will date your presentation. Remove the semester and year (Spring 2018), as that may require you lot to update the slide each twelvemonth, which is a pain. The idea here is to create something that you lot tin apply over and over, and possibly even share with others to use too. Y'all do NOT need the course number, name, semester or yr on your title slide. But your name and the championship of the presentation or topic is slap-up.

    2. Besides, we encourage you to keep specifics about assignments, exams, and other activities that may also change over fourth dimension separate from the presentation. Information technology is easier in the long run to go along your presentation content separate from your consignment/activity content, whether that is on a slide by slide or thread by thread ground. In addition, if yous DO alloy this content together in one presentation, we encourage you to tape split up comments (audio/video) for these items, so that you tin can as well easily delete or re-record simply those portions later as things change. Remember: down the road, y'all can replace a slide, or you tin supervene upon (delete/re-tape) individual comments. So if you record a five-minute long comment that is a lecture, but besides hash out an consignment, if you change the assignment portion, you would need to re-record that entire comment. Just keep this in listen as you develop and program your Voicethread recordings.

    3. LINKS: when imported to Voicethread, links on your slides are NOT clickable. However, it is possible to create 1 link per slide in Voicethread edit fashion, using these directions. Links on a slide wait similar this - the icon on the right is a clickable link

You can also add hyperlinks (every bit many as you desire) in Voicethread text comments (too as many as yous want) on each slide.

    1. Ok, and then at present you are gear up to assemble the materials that you lot will be presenting (presentation, pictures, videos)

    2. Delight save or export the presentation as a .PDF file before uploading to VoiceThread. If you see issues with fonts and text non positioned properly in Voicethread, you must actually export as PDF outset to avoid this. (Besides - if you lot program to tape audio narration/comments for your VoiceThread, we recommend keeping each slide'south narration to no longer than several minutes - and so go on this in mind when designing your slides.

How to Add Media to a New or Blank Thread in Edit Style

    1. Click Add together Media (plus sign) and drag your media onto the Add Media icon. Mouse over a blank thread and click the Edit icon to go into Edit mode.

    2. Drag PDFs, slides, photos, videos, etc. onto the Add Media icon, or click on the Add Media icon (or very large + sign) to come across other options, such as calculation by URL, webcam photo or webcam video, or other sources. Notation: Webcam photo takes a nevertheless photograph using your webcam, and the video option allows you to tape a video for students using your webcam. If you just want to record a video of yourself speaking, use the webcam video selection. Otherwise, to narrate on top of slides, click My Reckoner and browse to detect the files/slides.

    3. If you want to include other video resources, y'all would choose the URL selection and paste in the URL to the video. If you get an mistake, that site or media is not supported. (Please note that VT no longer supports importing YouTube videos this manner - merely yous can add together links to them using a text comment on any slide).

    4. Once your slides are uploaded, it will have some time to process them. The length of time to procedure slides varies merely tin can take fifteen minutes or more. In one case complete, click Comment to enter comment mode and so add a annotate to each page with the audio and/or video narration that should be included on that slide. (See more info on recording comments below.)

    5. Proceed in mind you can e'er come back to Edit mode to re-order, delete, add more or supersede slides. This is covered beneath.

    6. If your grouping members demand to add slides or comments, share and give them edit abilities. (For more information, see the section on sharing.)

    7. If y'all want to moderate the comments that are contributed to your slides, make certain to Enable Comment Moderation in the thread settings. Learn more about annotate moderation.

    8. When your presentation is ready, share it with the class. (For more data, see the department on sharing.)

    9. Video instructions for creating a VoiceThread are available on their website. Here'due south a folio defended entirely to Tips for creating a quality VoiceThread.

Tape or Upload a WebCam Video

You lot tin can record or upload a webcam video (rather than comments on a slide) in Voicethread. (Keep in listen, this is dissimilar than adding a video comment onto a slide, which is normally smaller and off to the side of a slide.)

    1. Get into Edit style

    2. Click on "+Add together Media"

    3. Select "WebCam Video" to record one on the wing and you volition come across a countdown before you begin recording. Play information technology back when finished to make sure it works well.

    4. or select "My Reckoner" to locate a video you have already recorded and wish to upload every bit its own "slide"

When there are blank vocalisation threads in your account, it is a good idea to rename them to something that matches the content.

    1. Mouse over a blank thread and Click the Edit icon to get into Edit mode.

    2. Click edit next to the vocalization thread name.

3. The Thread Settings window appears. Click the Championship field and type in a new proper noun.

4. When complete, click Save .

Importing Slides from Google Slides

One time your slides are complete, you will want to download them as a PDF for uploading into Voicethread. (Note: animations, videos, and transitions will not piece of work in Voicethread.)

To download:

Click on File menu> Download as… and choose PDF Certificate (.pdf)

Take note of where y'all relieve it and what information technology is named!

Commenting on a VoiceThread

In VoiceThread, you tin can annotate in several ways: using vocalisation (with a microphone, phone or, on pro accounts, uploaded audio file), text, or video (via a webcam).

To comment, you simply click on the (+) comment button at the bottom center of the VoiceThread page,

so determine which type of annotate yous want to go out:

    • text (ABC)

    • telephone (merely put in your phone number and it volition call you!)

    • sound (microphone)

    • video (camera)

    • or the upward arrow to upload an audio file equally an audio comment

Click on the appropriate icon, and so follow the prompts to exit your comment. *You lot will need to Allow Flash to access your microphone and/or your camera. Once your comment is recorded, you will have an option to either save, cancel or record more than which adds to the comment.

We highly recommend against continuing from slide to slide while you proceed to record. Simply tape i or more than comments per slide and save them without moving on to the adjacent slide while recording. Also, nosotros recommend more short comments, rather than fewer longer comments. The reason is because if you need to update something, it is far easier to delete and re-record shorter comments. Likewise, nosotros encourage you to keep information about specifics like assignments, activities, word questions, etc. in dissever comments from "lecture content" whenever possible. These tend to demand to be updated more than frequently, and having them as dissever slides and/or comments will make this far easier in the long run.

Some very important audio tips:

  • Examination, test, and examination: tape a couple comments and play them dorsum to encounter if the sound is an appropriate volume. Information technology would be a good idea to besides listen to something else on your computer, such as some other lecture, VoiceThread or video to see if the sound in the VoiceThread comment is at most the same volume level.

    • To select or change the microphone input and set the volume level for your microphone, control-click or right-click in the VoiceThread box and select "Settings" to pull up the Adobe Wink Settings - and then click on the Microphone icon and set the input volume level so that it is an appropriate volume (about 80% on the meter).

    • As well - get a good feeling for starting and stopping: are there words cut off at the beginning or end? Also long of a pause before or afterward speaking? Become a rhythm going for starting and stopping and then that you don't accept these issues.

  • You can delete and re-record sound or video comments whenever needed - so feel free to do a couple tests before you settle on the concluding comments.

  • When using a headset, make sure your microphone is a bit off to the side of your rima oris, not directly in front end of it. This will prevent also many popping P's and hissing Due south's. Again, do a test and listen to the recorded comment to meet if you are getting popping P'south or if the microphone sounds too close to your mouth (and you hear besides much breathing, etc.)

  • Since yous tin upload an audio file as a comment, you could too record using Audacity and edit/perfect your recording for each slide before uploading. (Notation: Only Pro accounts can upload audio files. Speak with your ID if you need Pro business relationship access.)

  • Plan to non speak more than about a minute or three at a time when narrating. If you seek perfection and mess upward two minutes into the comment, you will demand to delete and start over. Notation that you lot can ever salvage a comment, and add another 1. Y'all can add as many comments to a slide every bit you need.

For detailed instructions on each of these commenting methods, see the assistance article: https://voicethread.com/howto/category/commenting-web-awarding/ (We also have a video available to demonstrate commenting on a VoiceThread. )

If your students will be commenting on your VoiceThread, you lot have the selection to moderate their contributions, simply understand this requires someone with editing rights to review each comment before it is visible to everyone.

Deleting or Moving Comments

Comments tin be deleted by clicking the trash can icon while viewing a annotate.

Comments can be moved (reordered) by dragging and dropping the annotate icon.

Time to get the link to share your voicethread! Whenever you need students or colleagues to view and/or add comments to your thread, you can become a link to share with them. Here's how:

  1. Click the Share icon

  2. Click Basic

  3. Click Copy Link

  1. VERY Of import Step: Click Who has access and select Anyone can view (or Anyone can comment if you lot want someone to add comments) using the pulldown menu, and click Relieve changes .

If yous fail to change this permission setting, people will be unable to view and/or annotate on your presentation. They will receive an mistake box and will have to request access to your presentation.

  1. Anyone you give the URL link to can view the VoiceThread. You lot can provide it to others in a give-and-take forum, email, or text when submitting an consignment, or paste the link into a Word document and upload that.

  2. If yous are collaborating with someone from outside UMB, they, too can view and/or comment on the thread, only they will need to ready a free business relationship at https://voicethread.com/register, verify the account, and be logged in to add together comments.

  3. If someone has trouble viewing your thread, check #four higher up!

If you want to test that the link is available to students, open a new/different browser, in which y'all are NOT logged into Voicethread, and paste the URL into that browser to come across if it plays when non logged in. Yous volition come across "sign in" in the upper right corner, rather than your email address. If you lot run into your email address, yous are already logged into Voicethread:

Sharing Securely with Edit Rights

It is possible to share with other instructors or the IDEA Team with Edit rights by doing the post-obit:

    1. Click the Share icon (in the far upper left three line hamburger) and Click the Secure tab

    2. Click the Contacts tab

    3. a. If an Thought Squad contact exists already, click it.

    4. 4b. If it does not exist: Click the + sign to add an IDEA Squad contact : Add our proper name and email (ideateam@ssw....) and click Save

    5. Tick the Edit icon to go far green

    6. Click the Share (blue) icon to share (and the notify by electronic mail box being checked is good too!)

Sharing a Thread with a Group

Another way to share a thread with a detail group is simply to drag a thread from the correct side of your screen over the name of a group in the left column.

You lot will then be presented with the option to share and/or make a copy of the thread, besides as what blazon of admission you want to give the group: view, annotate and/or edit.

If you create a thread on your own, the easiest way to share information technology with IDEA Squad is to share or copy information technology to a group that we are in, and click Edit, to brand sure we take Edit admission to assist you and your students.

Copying a thread volition also reset all the dates for attached comments to the current date.

First, see "Sharing a Voicethread" above, to get the link that y'all demand to share with your students. You can add the link to your thread as a content particular in a Blackboard folder known equally a " web link " and paste the URL (from Sharing a Voicethread higher up) into that link for students to admission. They exercise not demand any special software or accounts if y'all have done all of the above - it should just open up in their web browser similar any video. Use the Build Content menu to cull " Spider web Link " and paste in the share URL to your thread:

OR y'all can embed it every bit a hyperlink in whatsoever text field in Blackboard:

Another (different) way to provide the link is to just insert a hypertext link in a Blackboard detail. To exercise this, go to the discussion forum, announcement, email tool, or item in Blackboard where you want to link to the thread.

To insert a simple hypertext link, type the text to click on or paste the link in and highlight it, and apply the link icon in the toolbar:

You can add the link to your thread as a content item in a Blackboard folder known as a "web link" and paste the URL into that link for students to access. They practice not need whatever special software or accounts if you have washed all of the above - information technology should just open up in their spider web browser like any video. Use the Build Content menu to choose "Spider web Link" and paste in the share URL to your thread:

Embedding Voicethread into Blackboard pages:

  1. To embed the video into a Blackboard page or detail, start by clicking Share in Voicethread, so Basic and Embed.

  2. Nosotros suggest you change the size boxes to 640 x 360 so the embed volition be a flake larger on your page.

  3. Decide if you desire students to be able to add comments or not - and uncheck the Comment box if not

  4. Click the blue Re-create Embed Lawmaking button which will copy everything in the code box to your clipboard

At present, back in Blackboard, Edit or create the item where you want to embed the thread.

Blazon in the intro text to introduce students to the presentation/concepts. This will assist you locate where to paste the embed code.

Click the < > icon in the toolbar to open the HTML editor.

Now, in the HTML editor, locate the intro text you lot typed, and in the line beneath it, paste the Voicethread embed lawmaking y'all copied and click Salve to cease.

Y'all volition and so run across the thread embedded in your page, and click Submit to finalize this process.

Using Voicethread for Educatee Projects

Many instructors utilize Voicethread for pupil presentation individual or group-based projects. If you lot do so, please include something like this message with your instructions to students, so that students take the information they will demand to successfully navigate to and use UMB Voicethread:

Be certain to read and utilize the tutorials for students on using Voicethread : (https://sites.google.com/site/sswideateam/students/voicethread-for-students)

Updating a VoiceThread Slide

Annotation

The below office requires EDIT access to the Voicethread. If you created it yourself, you take this. If Thought Team created the thread for you, we may need to provide Edit access instead of just Comment access for you to be able to practise this. Please email us for Edit admission! Exist be conscientious! Anything you delete is gone - at that place's no versioning!

With EDIT access, you lot can update either the slides or the comments on VoiceThreads at whatsoever fourth dimension. Allow'due south say you lot have a narrated slide with a typo and want to just replace the slide, only keep the sound comment. Here's how:

Function ane: Preparing the updated slides:

    1. Right the slide in PowerPoint

    2. Click File menu and pull down to: Salve as pictures so click Options - At the bottom, select Salve current slide only ; Select a Format (the default, JPEG volition work fine.) and click OK.

    3. OR if you don't see Save as > Pictures - do File > Export and change the Format pulldown menu from PDF to JPEG, and then select Current Slide Only .

    4. The Save as field may all the same accept the original proper name of your slide set - nosotros recommend yous append the number of the slide to the end of that proper name. For example: courseintroduction-slide15

    5. Note Where it is saving. (Nosotros recommend the desktop.)

    6. Click Save .

Repeat for whatever slides you wish to update

    1. Now, to VoiceThread:

    2. Log in to Voicethread

    3. Click VT Dwelling and locate the thread you lot wish to update. (It may prove upwardly under Shared with Me if your ID fix the VoiceThread, or y'all may demand to search for information technology using the box in the upper left.)

    4. Mouse over the VT and select Edit

    5. Mouse over the slide you wish to update and click the Pencil icon.

    1. Click Replace at the top of the prototype in the center of your screen

  1. If at that place are already comments on the slide, click Yep to upload a new slide but go on the comments. (You can always replace comments later)

    1. Select the private updated slide file yous saved in a higher place and click Salvage .

Atrributions

Portions of this content reproduced from JHSPH

https://sites.google.com/site/ctltteachingtoolkit/resources/voicethread/voicethread-how-to-faculty-ta

Voicethread and Screen Readers: Universal Voicethread

Voicethread can also be optimed for screen readers. See how on this page.

Notation, when creating a share link that yous desire to be Universal, do this:

Building a VT Universal share link

A VoiceThread share link takes a viewer directly to a item VoiceThread. This is often the quickest way to straight someone to an private VoiceThread. Click hither to learn how to obtain a share link.

The share link for a VoiceThread is structured as: http://voicethread.com/share/ ##### . The numbers at the stop of the share link are the identification number for that VoiceThread. This share link will always open in the standard application at voicethread.com.

If a person would similar to visit this VoiceThread in VT Universal instead, he can restructure the share link using that same identification number. The link would exist structured every bit: http://voicethread.com/universal/thread/ ##### .

Student Introductions and Comments: Copying for Each Semester

Many instructors use Voicethread as an ice billow and great fashion to accept students innovate themselves to each other asynchronously, because they can exercise then on their own fourth dimension, BUT can utilize audio and video then you can hear their voice and run across their face/body linguistic communication. This also makes VT a neat tool for asynchronous role playing, scenario responses or false cases.

However, it is not possible to re-use the same pupil introduction threads from year to year, they need to be Copied and reset with a new link for each semester or year. You lot cannot simply delete erstwhile comments from students and re-employ the same link each semester, because students from previous semesters will both receive electronic mail notifications of the new messages AND be able to see new student responses in classes in which the old students are not enrolled. Therefore, we ask all instructors who use VT for student introductions or student comment interaction, to re-create/duplicate and replace all such VT links with new ones, each semester. The Thought Team will help yous with this procedure. Please reach out at least two-three weeks prior to the semester to have this prepare up.

Please note that threads which are "view just" and which do not include student comments (such as lecture recordings, video recordings, or other media that students simply view) do Not need to be copied and reset each semester, and can continue to be re-used with the same links in your Blackboard form.