Voice Thread Article

Anonymous, (2009, February). Digitally speaking. Retrieved September 10, 2009, from http://wf2dnvr9.webfeat.org/http://digitallyspeaking.pbworks.com/Voicethread

I just finished reading an online article titled Digitally Speaking. The focus of this article was allowing students to find time to socialize while in school, but still allowing the educator to direct them academically. The ideal tool would be a type of group audio blog, called Voice Thread. This online tool allows students to communicate with anyone, anywhere, anytime on any subject. This communication can take a variety of forms. There can be verbal, typed or illustrated comments posted along with video, music, art or any number of other media. Students no longer have to feel that pencil and paper is the only means of communication allowed in the classroom, and instruction no longer has to come solely from one teacher in small-town Georgia.

These Voice Threads can be monitored easily by establishing moderation parameters. Prompts can be predetermined with open-ended questions that allow students to think critically prior to responding. This tool is catching on quickly and this article went into great depth describing the numerous ways it can be used before, during or after instruction.