- Accessing VoiceThread outside Blackboard: faculty can access VoiceThread by simply going to https://voicethread.com. Sign in in the top right corner. Use the password you use for Blackboard. If you cannot access your VoiceThread account, you may need to reset your VoiceThread password. Click “Need password?” and follow the prompts. After you created or modified your VoiceThreads, use these instructions to add a VoiceThread to your Blackboard course. Please note, that your students need to access your VoiceThread through Blackboard, their accounts are then created automatically and they have the correct viewing privileges.
- Web browser webcam/mic settings is a two step process: check the pop-up bar in the browser > click allow.
- Doodling tool: easier to use on an iOS device than on a computer.
- Text commenting: is useful for sharing web links.
- Uploading slides:
- it is easy to upload multiple slides with one click,
- animations in a PPT presentation will not transfer to VoiceThread (slides will be uploaded as images),
- it is better to save all PPT slides as images first and then upload to avoid graphic distortions
- you cannot edit a slide after you uploaded it, but you can replace it and if a slide has comments on it the comments will stay.
- Create a VoiceThread: when providing a VT description in Blackboard please mind that the description should be a continuous block of text; ii.e. one single paragraph and not multiple paragraphs. The latter will “break” the link from Bb to VoiceThread.
- Access and sharing: a faculty member can start a VoiceThread and give edit permissions to students, so students will be able to add on slides to a VoiceThread.
- Subscribing to a VT: remind faculty/students to subscribe to a VT to get notifications for comments or edits to make their experiences more engaging.
- Grading: when setting up a VT a faculty member can assign a point value, when grading it’s a % value.
- Embedding a VT: don’t embed a VT into a course site in Blackboard. A good example for embedding: a VT created by a librarian and then embedded on a library blog/website.
- Comment moderation: can be used when an instructor wants each student to contribute to a conversation without seeing other student responses.
- Adding attributions: when using images or other materials you found online, add the URL to the title of the slide (as an attribution).
- Audio/Video is out of sync: the most common causes of the audio and video getting out of sync are an overtaxed computer; an overtaxed browser; or insufficient bandwidth. Try restarting your computer and shutting down any unnecessary programs or processes running in the background.
