VoiceThread SECTIONS Analysisi

S Students Web-based product

Interaction will be familiar to many who have uploaded content from the web. Some may require
Student demographics, assistance in some form e.g. tips sheets, web links etc.
access and differences in Students need access to cameras and headsets
how students learn Products includes elements of text, audio and visual and may be attractive to students

E Ease of Use Fairly intuitive interface but students might struggle with editing the product (i.e. picture and sound
quality)
Computer literacy, Interface akin to what you would expect from other web2.0 application (e.g. Facebook)
orientation, reliability Orientation is readily available on website (i.e videos, forums, contact info)
Service might be slow at times
Older computers may make audio or visual participation difficult

C Costs Basic service is free but with limitations

Preferred rates for K-12 educators
Items of expenditures, Assignments need to be designed well as students may become mired in the process and spend too much
and drivers of costs. time using the product
(Cost to student/cost to Cost in teacher time if support an issue. This product needs to be evaluated according to its context of use
institution)

T Teaching & Learning Can be used for a variety of activities that can be led by the learners themselves
Allows students to be creative and explore
Is the technology Can appeal to a variety of learning styles
educationally May lead to higher-order learning
effective?
I Interaction Rich interaction in the classroom and beyond (e.g. twinning arrangements between schools)
VoiceThreads can be kept private and shared with friends or made public as an example of student learning
Quality and quantity of Students and teacher can provide feedback on presentations by means of text or audio
interaction Student presentations can be viewed as RSS feeds or on VoiceThread site in the 'Friends Section

O Organization Might be privacy concerns form organization or parents. As such public assignments have to be designed
with due diligence
Effective organizational
systems required

N Novelty Fairly new product

some concern that some web 2.0 companies do not have long-term resources to make themselves viable
How new is this
technology?

S Speed Rich content can be created fairly quickly by and for the students
Teaching materials can be changed rapidly
Capacity for speed Content does best when it is dynamic and active

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Based on the SECTIONS model as found in Bates, A.W. (2005). Technology, e-learning and distance education. New York:

Routledge.