Using Your Voice Effectively with Voice Thread

Voice Thread is a user-friendly way to create podcasts using voice, videos, pictures, texts, and annotations. The website is easy to navigate with many available tutorials. I enjoyed watching the humorous doodling examples and viewing videos that maximized Voice Thread’s possibilities. It appears to be an excellent technological tool to “keep instruction relevant and applicable to the word our students are used to and will inhabit after graduation” (Harris & Rea, 2009). I immediately began to think of uses for Voice Thread and was ready to try it out.

One of the many fabulous things about Voice Thread is that it is free for the user. It does appear that you can pay extra for a premium package with lots of benefits. However, the free option is amazing. Uploading multiple pictures, recording, and annotating was self-explanatory as I clicked on the buttons for each step.

Being a perfectionist, I was annoyed at having to make multiple recordings before I made a satisfactory recording. I ended up having to write out a script. Also, I do not have a wireless mouse. This caused my doodling to appear as the markings of a toddler in the podcast. If I plan on using the annotation on a frequent basis, I will need to buy a mouse. However, I was satisfied with my end product and cannot wait to use Voice Thread in my classroom and at work in the Office of Clinical Experiences.

As a musician and music educator, I am excited about making recordings and videos to share with students, family, and friends. Once I begin to make more personal recordings, I am concerned about how many people can access the Voice Thread.  I can limit the audience, but wonder just who could peruse my Voice Threads? Could original work easily be stolen? I need to do more research before posting or creating personal recordings.

Many times, I am not able to meet with all of our mentor teachers and liaisons. With Voice Thread I can create tutorials to explain new technologies that we are implementing as well as send out an informational podcast on updates to procedures and paperwork. I thoroughly enjoyed expressing “My Voice” by making a podcast using Voice Thread. What a great tool!

Harris, A. L., & Rea, A. (2009). Web 2.0 and virtual world technologies: A growing impact on IS
         Education. Journal of Information Systems Education, 20(2), 137-144. Retrieved from
         http://learningtechworld.com/Documents/Virtual%20World%20Technologies.pdf