VoiceThread

I became aware of this tool during the spring, 2008 semester as a result of my participation in EDUC 763 Online Assessment. My classmate and colleague presented research on Voice Thread - click here to see her full analysis.

Introduction

After reading a variety of articles and blogs about VoiceThread, I think that one of the cofounders, Steve Muth, summed this tool up best in a blog comment to Sean Rad when he said, "The concept is casual group audio conversations around shared evocative media (a.k.a. Mystery Science Theater 3000, only your media)."

A VoiceThread is a type of asynchronous audio forum that is based around a variety of possible media types (photos, drawings, documents or even video). The user can create a book of images and then create their own meaning of these images through voice, text, or drawings. Visitors can use these same tools to respond to or discuss the media. The participants of these audio conversations are shown in strips on the sides of the images. As stated on the VoiceThread Web site, "A VoiceThread allows group conversations to be collected and shared in one place, from anywhere in the world."

This sample is open and you can experiment if you wish.