At a Glance

• Student-student and student-instructor collaboration
• Add video, audio, and text comments around pictures or PowerPoint slides
• Web-based, nothing to download
• Share VoiceThreads with specific groups of students
• Provide interactive feedback on student submissions

Description/Overview

VoiceThread is an interactive multimedia presentation tool that promotes collaboration and discussion. You can start a VoiceThread discussion by uploading images, videos and documents and then sharing the link with others. Viewers can navigate through your slides and leave comments.

Additionally, using VoiceThread's "doodle" tool, you can markup or annotate the multimedia you have uploaded when leaving a typed, video, or audio comment.

Getting Started

All KU faculty, staff and students can use VoiceThread.   You can log to KU’s VoiceThread by going to the Technology website, with your KU Online ID. 

You can create, manage and share your VoiceThread content from the VoiceThread website.  You can also use VoiceThread directly in your Blackboard course.

Our Educational Technology Consultants are available to help if you have any questions or concerns. They can be reached by emailing blackboardsupport@ku.edu or by calling 785-864-2600.

Additional Resources

For technical support and answers to frequently asked questions, please visit the VoiceThread Knowledge Base (KB) Articles. If you need help creating class groups, posting VoiceThread boards to your Blackboard course or using VoiceThread for the first time, contact Blackboard Support at 785-864-2600 or blackboardsupport@ku.edu.

Use Cases

Basic Online Presentations

VoiceThread provides a quick, easy way for instructors to transfer their presentations to an online format. By turning a VoiceThread’s comments off, instructors can provide a basic, lecture-style presentation to their students. VoiceThread allows presenters to create presentations one slide at a time, which means that they can create their presentations and add narration when it best suits their schedule.

Flipping the Classroom

Instructional information is delivered online outside of the classroom, leaving time for discussion and “homework” during scheduled class time.

Video Assessment and Review

VoiceThread makes it easy to analyze and comment on issues within the context of a video presentation. To do this, instructors can provide in-video text feedback while the video is playing. Both the presenter and the presentation grader benefit from this tool.

Online Asynchronous Review Sessions

VoiceThread allows instructors to post questions and for students to answer those questions whenever and wherever it’s most convenient for them. Students also can post their own questions via the comment function so that the instructor can log in when she/he has time to review those questions.

Language Courses

VoiceThread allows students to practice the spoken portion of their language class online, hear other students practicing and receive feedback regarding their performance. Instructors can post words, sentences and paragraphs for the students to repeat in the comments. The instructor can hear their students speak the language online, eliminating the need for real-time oral exams, which can leave more time for in-class language exercises.

Sign Language Instruction

VoiceThread helps students learn sign language by allowing them to practice and submit, via video, for the instructor to review. Instructors also can post examples of signs and ask students to repeat them. Or, instructors can post written words or phrases and ask the students to sign the words or phrases via video comment in VoiceThread.