Each month we will be reviewing a web 2.0 tech tool that can be used in conjunction with Videoconferencing. This month we will be reviewing Voicethread.

Perhaps you caught the recent article published by edutopia on 10 ways to use technology in the classroom.  And do not forget Free Technology for Teachers for technology review of tools, hardware etc.

Both locations have covered and recovered Voicethread. Voicethread allows you to share and talk about images, documents and videos. Here at Kigluait we have used Voicethread for Poetry Slam, in which students recorded audio/ video straight into voicethread using their computers webcam and mic. This allowed other participants to give feedback or review the poetry prior to the event. This was also used for our Lines and Patterns event in which students attempted to identify the pattern created by lines in a picture and then shared their own picture. The uses for Voice thread are overwhelming, but here are a few:

• Edutopia suggests having students use it for goal setting
• Problem Solving for math using a picture of a building structure
• Passing, carrying or finishing a story.
• Identifying gramatical errors or modify sentences for writing.
• Evaluate art
• Evaluate and comment on a Historical Document
• Identify a phenomenon and predict hypothesize how it may occur.

You can find lots more examples here. Voicethread of course incorporates into Facebook, mySpace, Blogger etc. So the possibilities of sharing are endless as well.

How tos:

1. create an account. Go to http://voicethread.com and click on teh creeate tab. Next click on Register below the email entry box. This will take you to the flash screen to register. Create a new account.

2. Once created, you will automatically have a set of voicethreads in your accont. Watch the one that says 1 minute voicethread.

3. Not once you have created your voicethread, you may wish to share with the world via a blog or just with your students. So you will notice that each voicethread has a picture of a gear for accessing the menu. Select this and choose share. In this new screen you will notice that you can create a group to share with or send an email to users, or share through embed or links.

And that's it! Simple, quick and easy. And a great way to integrate web2.0 technology into your classroom. Of course there are lots more features and capabilities, such as phoning in comments. But that is up to you to explore and discover.

Please do share how you use voicethread in your classroom in the comments below.

One of the best things about IVC is that it allows for a part of social communication that is not typically seen when using the social networks on the Internet. Yet, I have come to realize that the idea of using Web 2.0 with Interactive Videoconferencing is still a very new idea for many. Why? 

Kigluait has been actively involved in using Web 2.0 tools to extend our videoconferencing for sometime, but many of our customers find the tools new and sometimes overwhelming. We will continue to use these tools however, because it further allows for best teaching practices. 

Here is a great example. Often during videoconferences we cannot know, look, see understanding or answers to questions we ask from ALL of the students. Sometimes this is from a bad camera view (since we only meet for 60 minutes, we debate whether to take the time to have them adjust the camera) or from poor quality in the video feed or simply not being able to read every students face, body language at once. So along comes web 2.0. 

Poll Everywhere has a wonderful site for polling (like clickers) using sms text messages. So cell phones, Twitter, the web etc... Whatever tech you have on hand. Absolutely love it!  I will be testing this feature out in the upcomming year and I am sure will be back to blog the results. 

This time of year always brings more time for thought process, and mindful being. As I wrap up my virtual experience for NECC09 and explore my new connections, many thoughts come to mind and remind me why I am an educator and why I moved into IVC and distance education. 

After our presentation for NECC 09, I was left with concern that I had not really demonstrated the power of IVC. This of course was based on the gauge of audience reactions during the presentation. Now granted, it was a 30 minute session and how much can you interact with a group in person in 30 minutes. Well here is where I argue my point. 

IVC, social media, social networking, and the likes will not make us better teachers, educators, learners. Like any technology tool, we need to first be able to know what we want to communicate in order to teach/ learn. We also need to understand our audience. Thus it is based in the content and how best to communicate it to the audience and their needs. So. how best can we use technology to communicate? Again it all depends on what and how we want to communicate!Trying to use technology to teach first is like trying to drive fast with just the chassy and body of a Frerari, but without the engine. (Or in our case, a sprint sled without the sled dogs!)

Mobile Learning Institute shares a great video about 21st century teachers, and how important the content is. In fact, Larry Rosentock even describes his school as a Liberal Arts school and not a technology school, for that very reason. It is about the content. 

Furhtermore, after hearing Malcolm Gladwell's speech at NECC09 and the "Brick and Mortar's school debate", I could not but further think that we are missing the boat here. Gladwell clearly ended his presentation with the same concept, it is not whether we teach school within or outside the walls, it is what and how we teach in the schools. (Every reason to not have 8 hr day schools, year round and on Saturdays, but more important to recognize that our passions in learning will drive us to learn on our own in school or outside of school 8 hrs a day, on Saturdays year round. Again it is all about the content.) 

Reflecting on this in terms of IVC, social media, networking, web 2.0, I once again realize the need for my audience during my presentation to participate in the importance of the content beyond the IVC presentation, in the realm of Ning or twitter. This immediate feedback from my learners lets me know as a teacher if we have hit the target and we were succesful. (Did I even choose the correct thing to measure here?) In real life this would have been through body langauge, side conversations and personal networking through introductions. However the presentation was virtual, thus I had to heavily rely on my web 2.0 tools: twitter, ning, etc. to gather this input.  Here is where the problem lies, did I incorrectly assume that my audience was ready and willing for this level of interaction beyond IVC or even with IVC? Again, back to the content being King. 

In the end it all comes back to best teaching practices. As a teacher, I greatly rely on my skills and learned experiences in the classroom for being a succesful teacher. But what I walk away with is that learning and education happen best when we begin with content (standards) and what our audience is ready to learn. Then considering how we will know if we or our audience has learned it (assessments) and then how best can we teach it and/or how our audience can learn it (what tech tools will work best). I will continue to fall back on this core teachings from RISC as I delve further into the realm of technology, NECC and IVC. I do what I do because I see how we can move beyond our classrooom walls, but still have a base for our learning within our classroom walls, all strung together by content and our passions to learn through adventure and exploration. 

Kigluait Adventures: Adventure, Discovery, Learning for Life!