Community reviews for VoiceThread

VoiceThread allows for a safe environment for in-depth sharing, engagement, and the opportunity for students to express their learning in a variety of formats (video, audio, text). The cost/account is very low. Many Common Core standards are covered using this tool. It is fairly simple for students to use, can be accessed wherever they have an internet connection, allows for an organic way to teach digital citizenship, and is a great way to access student skills and needs. The support from VoiceThread is great. There is an iPad app, but it is a little buggy and the functionality is not as good as using the website. It would earn a 5 if the posts where linked as threads, if students receive an easily identifiable alert each time their VoiceThread receives a comments, and if the app allowed for a greater array of content download (you cannot download a video using the app), if it was easier to setup groups, and there was a better way for participants to edit their audio or video comments.

I have been a big fan of Voicethread for several years now. I think it enables students to express themselves in creative ways and can be a more comfortable presentation tool for some than speaking in front of a group live. I would recommend that you only attempt to use Voicethread with Google Chrome, otherwise you may experience difficulties. I also would recommend purchasing an educational account - particularly for the teacher's sake. It is much easier to access and grade Voicethreads when they are all in one place, the educational account does that for you.

One of my colleagues fought long and hard to convince my district that they should purchase Voicethread for our students. She believed strongly in the power of peer evaluation and feedback and felt that this tool would provide students with just that. From what I've observed when using Voicethread, she was not wrong. This tool allows students to quickly and easily create a presentation with images, text, audio, and video that they can share with other students in their group then hear back from them. Through the use of Voicethread, teachers have the perfect opportunity to teach students how to respond to others online, what a good comment looks like, and what constructive feedback really is. Although this is not part of the elementary curriculum, which is where I spend most of my time, this is a good way to softly introduce students so that they'll be better equipped to take part in peer exchanges in the coming years. In my opinion, it is this feature that sets Voicethread apart from other collaborative apps and websites and what makes it such a great tool to use in my classrooms.

Very easy to use and share work (You will have to change formats on some of your google products by downloading as a PDF before uploading to comment on them);. Dislike that you have to purchase if you want to keep your students work together and private. If you don't mind having students share their work in another way, like by emailing or embedding on a website, then the free version works as well.

It’s rare to find a single tool that allows preschoolers to publish and share their illustrated stories and college professors to extend their lectures and assignments. VoiceThread is truly an early childhood through adult application for creating visual audiocasts to address curricular subjects and global topics. In the Upstanders, Not Bystanders App Flow (/app-flows/upstanders-not-bystanders), you can see how VoiceThread makes it possible to build a shared conversation, yet break it out by adult, elementary, middle school, and high school sections.

I love this app because it's very intuitive for children. This app is versatile and can be used for digital storytelling, teacher made tutorials, biographies, and so much more! I think it serves students better because they are able to learn the art of collaboration when designing Voicethreads and also are engaged in the interactive storytelling that this app provides!

Great tool. Can be expensive, if only one of the many tools you are using with a class, but as a secondary science and math teacher it is well worth it.

I found Voicethread easy to use once students were exposed to it. In order for it to be free, there is a 5 slide maximum, after which time you are unable to expand the thread. Some students had trouble uploading the sound clips, while others didn't follow directions and did not make the thread "public" so I would be able to access it. It was my first experience with this site, so I have a list of things to adjust and fix for next year. It was especially useful for visual learners and students who struggle with writing - it gives them an alternative to writing an essay or a story. For foreign language teachers, it's a great way to incorporate more meaningful dialogue and speaking in the target language. Rather than just look at a generic picture and describe it, my students took ownership of the assignment by choosing the pictures that were personal to them and meant something to them. Most of my students were able to navigate the site easily and enjoyed the alternative way of doing the assignment, so I definitely will use it again. My more advanced students made use of the optional "pen" that can be used to draw arrows and circle things in the picture. I definitely would suggest doing a trial run before using it in the classroom to avoid any frustrating hang-ups, such as forgetting to make the thread available to the teacher. I just wish it were priced more reasonably. :(

VoiceThread is an easy to use, fun and engaging tool for students and teachers to use. It is a secure and collaborative network where students can find and share their voice. Students can upload their images or pull from the extensive digital library. They have five ways to leave a comment. Commenting can be done on images, videos and/or presentations. Teachers can upload student names and create class groups. There are great tutorials to use with students. There is an option to remain private, but students can share their work with other students around the world in a safe environment. The only downfall is the fee. There is an individual teacher license for $79 for 15 months. Site licenses are also available. The fee is worth the collaborative, secure and creative features of this tool.

VoiceThread can be adapted to many different disciplines. It also lends itself to teachers running a flipped classroom environment. While set-up is quick, it can be quite time-consuming to go through all of the responses, especially for more complex prompts. I have also experienced glitching when students tried to access an embedded VoiceThread in Haiku LMS. That issue may lie with the LMS, however.