VoiceThread

[intertext]

This is to test a new Web 2.0 tool called VoiceThread. For me, it has potential for my online courses, so I thought I'd try it out here. See what you think. You click on the facebox on the side to hear me speak. You can add comments right on it either audio or typed by clicking on the appropriate box; or, of course, you can comment on this post in the usual way, should you feel so inclined. Commenting on the voicethread would be nifty, though, because then I'd see how it works. I suppose you might have to sign up to comment - I don't know.

Comments

[gillo]

I don't have a microphone, so I'm commenting in the boringly usual manner. It strikes me that his has quite a lot of potential - presumably you can have a sequence of pictures with the same voice-over, so you could actually explain and demonstrate as you go along?

What will they think of next?

[intertext.livejournal.com]

Yes - you can do a "book" with a whole collection of photos each with its own comment. And of course it's not limited to photos - any image you upload can have commentary added to it. So you could make a gif or jpeg diagram, upload it and add comments. Or lines of poetry... the possibilities are endless. And it's really easy to use. It's not clear about whether it will always be free, but it says somewhere that it will always be free for educators, so that's a good thing.

[gillo]

So in effect it has the potential to be an online lecture with PowerPoint display. Without the bozo who insists on reading aloud every word on the slide too, of course!

Cool.

[intertext.livejournal.com]

With the added advantage that anyone with an invite can also collaborate, so you can have contributions from the class, questions and answers etc. You can have one account with many users, so for example I've seen one where there are kids recording poetry and it's all in one place.

It really is very cool. Simple, but very very effective.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I'd try to respond but you have to sign in, and then I guess you have to have a microphone. Besides, you have a spiff accent and my crap LA nasality would probably break your speakers.

That was cool, though.

[intertext.livejournal.com]

I haven't explored all the "invite friends" options - I think you can email people that you want to share as well. That would work for a class, for example.

Thanks for trying it out, though, and for commenting! I think it's very cool.

And there is a type comments option for those with no mike. They've thought of everything.

[lidocafe.livejournal.com]

. . . everything except how to disguise your voice. I want to sound like Darth Vader.

[inaniac.livejournal.com]

I think it has heaps of potential, particularly as there is the possibility of having multiple identities. I've set up one under my real name and I'm going to try doing some sort of screen casts for how to do wikis and things. I've been trying to do a real screen cast with moving mouse and all, but I tend to get flustered halfway through and miscue things.

I won't make a comment on your voicethread yet. I think you may need to play with your mic settings. Or, it may be that it just has to travel so far to get here, but it's really soft (unless you're naturally softly spoken, unlike some brash, loud aussies I know :D *looks around innocently*).

[intertext.livejournal.com]

I think it's seriously cool, and am already thinking of all kinds of ways I could use it. For example, lines of poetry, with words highlighted and explanations of terms... You could make a kind of interactive powerpoint presentation.

Thanks for the heads up about the sound quality. Probably it's a combination of both factors: I do have quite a soft voice, but also may need to tweak my mic settings.

[vaframenti.livejournal.com]

makes me miss class. I imagine this has great potential, especially for on-line classes, or classes with on-line options.

You could put This Be The Verse on the opening slide! LOL! ;)

Great to hear your voice.

[intertext.livejournal.com]

Wow! Hi! Long time no contact! Good to "hear" from you (I was a bit worried). Hope you're having a good summer...