VoiceThread sharing in VT Universal

Sharing in VT Universal is here! VoiceThreaders who rely on VT Universal for screen reader access no longer need to swap to the standard version to share their VoiceThreads for collaboration. Share with individual contacts, with groups and courses, or with the whole world using an interface designed with accessibility in mind from the ground up. Click here for the sharing guide What is VT Universal? It’s a version of VoiceThread that is fully accessible to screen readers. … Continued

When You Ask Me about VoiceThread

This is a guest post Grace Hu, an international graduate student and VoiceThreader. It was an asynchronous course last spring that I first used VoiceThread. Our professor uses VoiceThread as a tool for class discussion. The professor presents the topic and prompts using the VoiceThread slideshow feature. Typically, each slide will discuss one issue. We need to post our views on each prompt by Friday and then respond to at least three of our peers by Sunday. … Continued

VoiceThread = Equitable and Empathetic Learning Communities

This is a guest post by educator and VoiceThreader, By Dr. Carolina Seiden. During the road to reimagining learning during the times of COVID-19, VoiceThread has become a source of support for my learning community. Here are two new (to me) approaches that have come to the fore because of this reimagining of my teaching efforts. The first idea centers around the support I can and should provide for my diversely abled and skilled groups of language learners. … Continued

Using VoiceThread for Special Education Classes

This is a guest post by Special Education teacher and VoiceThreader, Lauren Andersen. As a special education teacher of students with severe and multiple disabilities, it has been a challenge to find appropriate technological resources that meet my each and every one of students where they are at and help take them to the next level. Since learning about VoiceThread in a technology course at Columbia University many years ago, VoiceThread has become my top resource when creating lessons for my students, developing training modules for my teacher assistants, teaching online graduate courses, and encouraging collaboration among a group of individuals. … Continued

Taking advantage of UDL with VoiceThread's Closed Captioning

This is a guest post by VoiceThread Certified Educator, Curtis Izen. In my online and f2f business information courses, I have used VoiceThread for a variety of assignments. This includes an “ice breaker” (Ice Breaker), transforming discussion boards (Transforming Discussion Boards), group PowerPoint (Group PowerPoint), individual research assignments to be shared for the entire class to learn from (Sharing your Research) , using comment moderation in a Microsoft Excel assignment (Using Comment Moderation) as well as students needing to create their own VoiceThread from scratch (Creating your Own VoiceThread). … Continued

VoiceThread and Structured Literacy Instruction

Students with Dyslexia are one of the most underserved student populations in our schools. When we discuss Universal Design and accessibility for students, we typically forget about students who struggle with text. The International Dyslexia Association has spent time working to help these students and recently shared a Structured Literacy approach that works well with VoiceThread. Photo credit: TheDyslexicBook.com. Here are some tips for using VoiceThread within a Structured Literacy framework: … Continued

Accessibility and Universal Design with VoiceThread

Inside Higher Ed just published an article about the intersection of the two biggest online education topics of the last few years: MOOCs and accessibility. Institutions want to create online courses and content that are available to the wider public, but questions are being raised about whether this content is designed for universal access. Here are some of the findings from the article: Many of these problems can be prevented by choosing the right platform to deliver these courses. … Continued

Using VoiceThread to Facilitate Language in an Elementary Deaf Education Classroom

This is a guest post by educator and VoiceThreader, Marleah Jacobson. VoiceThread meets Deaf education and magic happens. Magic in the form of a classroom erupting with language; both English and American Sign Language. Once the Deaf and hard of hearing students in my 3rd-5th grade classroom have the chance to respond to questions, process new material and express their ideas in a language that is fully accessible due to its visual nature–American Sign Language–I see marked growth in their abilities to understand and produce written English. … Continued