Article Intended For
This article is intended for all Penn State faculty and staff.
Introduction
VoiceThread is a web-based application that allows you to place collections of media such as images, videos, documents, and presentations at the center of an asynchronous conversation. A VoiceThread allows people to have conversations and to make comments using any mix of text, a microphone, a webcam, a telephone, or uploaded audio file.
VoiceThread can be used within a Canvas course or as a stand-alone application.
Additional information is available at VoiceThread at PSU.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Enable VoiceThread in a Canvas Course
If you are an instructor, to enable VoiceThread in a Canvas course:
1. In the left course navigation, click Settings.
Figure 1: Clicking the Settings option.
2. Select the Navigation tab.
Figure 2: Selecting Navigation tab.
3. Scroll down to VoiceThread and click the gear icon to its right.
4. From the drop-down menu, select Enable.
Figure 3: Selecting Enable from the drop-down menu.
5. Click the Save button.
VoiceThread will then be available in the course as an external tool.
Use VoiceThread in a Canvas Course
Once you have enabled VoiceThread in your Canvas course, there are four steps to using VoiceThread:
- Adding VoiceThread to your course
- Setting up your VoiceThread link
- Waiting for students to submit work
- Grading student work
Create a New VoiceThread
- Creating a new VoiceThread
- Uploading files from your computer
- Importing media from other VoiceThreads
- Importing media from another website
- Importing media from other services
- Using your webcam to create a slide
- Using your microphone to create an audio slide
- Number of slides a VoiceThread can contain
- Adding a title, description, and tags
- Saving your work
A video tutorial on how to Create a VoiceThread is available.
Here is a list of Accepted Files Types.
Share a VoiceThread
Any VoiceThread that you create is private by default. You can then decide who gets to see it and what level of permission they have. You can allow others to view, comment on, or edit your VoiceThreads. These permissions can be granted to specific individuals or to groups of people. You can also revoke sharing permissions at any time so that others can no longer access a shared VoiceThread.
- Publishing a VoiceThread
- Getting a share link
- Sharing with a Group
- Sharing with an individual
- Finding VoiceThreads shared with you
- Embedding
- Sharing to Facebook or Twitter
- Unsharing
- Self-Repairing Sharing
A video tutorial on how to Share a VoiceThread is available.
Access VoiceThread outside of Canvas
To access VoiceThread outside of Canvas as a stand-alone application:
- Visit the VoiceThread home page.
- Log in with your Penn State Access Account user ID and password.
Links
Canvas LTI: Importing Slides into VoiceThread
Canvas LTI: VoiceThread Accessibility
Canvas LTI: Using VoiceThread for Students
For additional instructions and tutorials on using VoiceThread features, visit VoiceThread's Support.