VoiceThread Mobile for Apple® iDevices
VoiceThread bridges the gap between real-time discussions and static multi-media slideshows, making it the platform for on-demand teaching, learning, training, and collaborating. We are working with the lofty goal of true accessibility so that any "door" used to access VoiceThread is equally effective for your means of participation.
"We want to serve the needs of a person with dyslexia or ADHD, an outdoor classroom with mobile devices, a user in the developing world without high-speed internet, a kindergartner, or an elderly lifelong learner." (Read more)
With that goal in mind, we'll be releasing a Mobile App this fall for the iPad®/iPhone®/iPod touch® that will provide the same experience of creating and collaborating around your content on your Mobile device that you would experience in the web-based application... and we're pretty excited about that!
Take a look, and tell us what you think.
Embedding a VoiceThread on any website
VoiceThread makes embedding easy, allowing you to add interactive group discussions to any website. Simply copy and paste the embed code to your website and let the conversations begin. Whether it is feedback, critique, or group story-telling, collect it how, when, and where you want. Here is a tutorial for learning more about Embedding.
Steve Kimmi's group of 5th graders form Salina, Kansas needs your help! We want to know Why you read? Why you write? They are trying to get as many responses as we can from everyone and anyone. You can help by adding your text, audio, or video, to this Voicethread
VoiceThread is an interactive tool that allows for the sharing of group conversations and discussions on a browser-based web application, without the use of software.
Preston Girls' Secondary College Reading Wiki to show and share with students and teachers how web 2.0 tools can inspire students to respond to set texts in a more creative way.
Making book trailers
Filming their own '60 second recap
Making animotos
Creating toondoos
Using Flickr to make a showbag
Developing a glog
Creating a Google Lit Trip
Making a Prezi
Creating VoiceThreads
and responding in Twitterature style
are just some examples of how students can creatively respond to a book.
Each link explains how the tools can be embedded into the curriculum and shows examples of how other people have used these sites to develop a book response. Some responses are better than others and it would be good to discuss with students beforehand what made certain examples better than others.
For some of the presentations, students may need a Flip camera (such as 60 second recap) however the rest of the presentations could use photos and images from the internet. A lesson on Creative Commons and Wikimedia before students are let loose would help them understand their responsibilities in terms of selecting appropriate images and music to use.
Once finished, students could show their presentations to each other and have them critique their work. Permissions allowing, presentations could also be uploaded to the school website or shown on parent information evenings or parent/teacher nights.
Challenge:
My challenge to you is to ask students to use one of these tools (can be in conjunction with a written response) in their next text response.