VoiceThread

Collaboration Tools

In this post we explore one of the 5 Cs of 21st Century education: collaboration. In case you have forgotten the other 4, they are creativity, critical thinking, cooperation and communication. While I single out collaboration, this is not necessarily the case in practice. You will concur that effective online collaboration activities inevitably rope in the other 4 Cs! It's a multi-layered cake; the Cs are mutually inclusive.

What is collaboration?

Simple! It's teamwork in which two or more people set goals and complete tasks. In the process they ask questions, discuss ideas, explore solutions, clarify their own thinking and develop deeper understanding of content. What's more, they refine their social skills through negotiation, turn taking, sharing, helping each other and accepting help. This is possible through the versatile VoiceThread (VT). 

What is VT?

VT a cloud-based asynchronous communication and collaboration tool. It uses a multimedia slide of images, documents, and videos which permits users to navigate slides and post comments using voice, text, audio file, or video (via a webcam). A VT can be shared with colleagues who can comment on a document, picture or video right on the page by typing or recording audio or video feedback. This makes it possible for learners to scaffold each other, or collaborate on projects and presentations. To appreciate the creative potential of VT, view this shot clip from YouTube.

Using V in the Classroom

VT's tag-line is conversations in the cloud because that's what it really is. It calls on students to listen, watch, read and respond, which cover the four skills of language learning. There are many ways of incorporating voice thread in your lessons. Your creativity is key. Here are a few ideas:

• Use VT for listening and conversation practice in a fun and engaging way.
• Use VT for interactive and engaging online story telling activities.
• Engage learners in cultural presentations on aspects like traditions, customs, music, food etc of specific cultures or their own.
• Use VT to preview topics for further exploration in class-all students get to comment on the topic.
• VT can be used to extend content, vocabulary, pronunciation & writing activities.
• Use VT as a reflective tool after covering a topic, watching a video etc. Students can record interesting facts they learnt and maybe use at least 5 new acquired words in the process.
• When they master the tool, you can get learners to create, upload and share their own assignments.

Why VoiceThread?

Some of the benefits of using VT are obvious.  Once students set up accounts, the site is intuitive enough for learners to master it easily. Samantha Stelz has used VT with a second grade class! It is a great tool to encourage student to talk to each other, listen and think about each other's ideas. VT also fosters learner autonomy and ensure the participation of all sorts of learners even the shyest who will never open their mouths in class.

While online, learners are very safe because of child-centred policies that ensure a safe and supportive environment:

• Learners cannot exchange private messages.
• All learner products are accessed by administrators and teachers.
• Student accounts can only interact with approved users.
• Learner autonomy can be restricted and gradually relaxed as they mature.

I found  Micahel Fort's (specialist in instructional technology) evaluation of the tool very informative and encouraging, especially that it affords personal space to all learners. Even unmotivated learners relish the chance to be experts on topics they work on. Try Araceli Trujillo ,a Spanish tutor, for more ideas.

However...

VT is entirely internet based which can be a challenge to students with limited access. Its inability to allow multiple users simultaneous access to the same account is another drawback. Depending on one's internet connectivity and gadget capabilities, uploading pictures and videos can take a while. Free VT accounts come with limited editing and viewer capabilities and only afford 2GB storage space. So, one might have to part with a few quid for a better service.

Impressed, aren't you? Forget the old blackboard, chalk, cane and the gloomy atmosphere. Embrace VT, engage learners, create extra free time for yourself and cut that laundry bill. With VT your clothes stay cleaner for longer. No more  chalk dust! No sneezing! Be a tech-smart teacher!