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Explore the possibilities: Strategies for using the instructional tool VoiceThread
G.I.F.T. Presented at the annual meeting of the Central
States Communication Association, April 2013
Online Teaching Activity

Elizabeth Tolman
Communication Studies and Theatre
South Dakota State University

Course: This assignment can be used in online undergraduate communication courses.

Objectives:
1) Students will present examples of course concepts and theories
2) Students will post discussion questions about the course content and facilitate discussions
3) Students will respond to each others postings and engage in asynchronous discussions
4) Students will identify key themes from the VoiceThread discussion and present their
findings in a formal paper

Rationale:

As an online instructor, I have struggled with how to adapt my lectures, discussions, and the
interactions that occur in a face-to-face class to the online format. As my teaching
responsibilities have shifted to online instruction over the years, I have looked for instructional
resources that can help me present the course content and facilitate asynchronous discussions.

I have used asynchronous discussions in these online courses and this has been an essential
aspect of each course. Through asynchronous discussions, my students are required to prepare an
initial posting, develop links to course content, use examples to illustrate their claims, ask and
answer discussion questions, and participate in the discussion throughout the week. In online
courses such as Interpersonal Communication and Theories of Communication I used Camtasia
to present my lectures in the form of PowerPoint slides with my voiceover or webcam video.
Even with these instructional resources, I continued to look for a tool that would allow me to
present lectures and give my students the opportunity to engage in discussions about the content
I was presenting. VoiceThread allows me to fulfill these instructional goals in these courses.

Users of VoiceThread can provide voiceover, webcam video, or text postings. If the user does not
have a microphone, VoiceThread is set up to call the user with the number he or she provides.
The phone option is an additional fee. Videos, pictures, PowerPoint slides, and images can be
included in each VoiceThread slide. Each user uploads a picture or icon. The users postings are
visible and heard when you click on their picture or icon. See https://voicethread.com/ for
specifics.

VoiceThread can be used in an online, hybrid, or web enhanced course. Through VoiceThread
instructors can present course content and engage online students by facilitating discussions.
Pecot-Heber (2012) explained how VoiceThread is used in a hybrid course. The author provides
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guidelines for using VoiceThread and recommendations for assessment. Instructors can assess
students VoiceThread comments using a rubric.

Description of the Activity:

I used VoiceThread to present the course content for each chapter in a 10 week online
Interpersonal Communication summer course. The VoiceThread included PowerPoint slides and
my voiceover, webcam video, and text comments for each chapter. I adapted PowerPoint slides
that I had prepared for a face-to-face course. The PowerPoint slides included definitions of
course concepts and theories, discussion questions, personal examples and explanations of
course content, and pictures. These VoiceThread lectures were embedded in the Desire2Learn
content module. When I was preparing the VoiceThreads, I noticed that was sharing personal
examples and experiences in the VoiceThread, just as I would if I were teaching the course face-
to-face. For one week of the course, students participated in the VoiceThread discussion. For this
week, VoiceThread was used to present the course content and a discussion assignment. For the
VoiceThread discussion week, the VoiceThread for the chapter was embedded into the discuss
module in Desire2Learn, among the asynchronous discussions.

Students were required to post in VoiceThread by typing text, posting an audio recording or
posting a video. Expectations for posting included at least three postings in VoiceThread during
the week. Students were instructed to make audio or video postings that were at least 2 minutes
and/or written comments at least 30- 35 words. During an online summer course, the initial
posting deadline was Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. and the final postings were due by Saturday at
11:59 p.m. The Voice Thread paper was due by the Saturday 11:59 p.m. deadline. See Handout 1
for prompts.

After students posted in VoiceThread, they reviewed each others postings and completed a
formal paper about on the content of the postings. See Handout 2 for prompts. Students reviewed
the postings, identified three key findings from the VoiceThread postings, and prepared a formal
paper explaining these key findings.

After students viewed the postings in the VoiceThread, they wrote a formal paper and presented
the three themes they identified. They discussed three key findings about nonverbal
communication that they found emerged as relevant. For each finding they explained what the
class discussed, examples, and key points from the discussion. Students developed the wording
for their themes. Keyton (2011) and Owen (1984) present guidelines for conducting a thematic
analysis. These include identifying instances of recurrence and repetition. Recurrence occurs
when at least two parts have the same meaning. This does not mean repetition. Rather, different
wording may have the same meaning. Repetition includes explicit repetition of key words,
phrases, or sentences.

Debriefing of the activity:

Students submit a formal paper about the three themes they identified. Expectations for the
assignment include 1) presenting and discussing three themes 2) ideas are organized and
presented in a logical fashion 3) the use of examples from the Voice Thread postings 4) illustrates
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an understanding of the course content 5) focuses on the findings about communication in the
discussion

Appraisal of the activity:

Student feedback about VoiceThread has been positive. In fact, students in the online
Interpersonal Communication course offered unsolicited comments about the use of VoiceThread
in their papers. Samantha wrote, I thought the VoiceThread discussion was a great way to shake
up a tedious way to do discussions. I loved how we were able to see and hear the different
varieties of the class. VoiceThread serves as an alternative to the asynchronous discussions that
also occurred during the term. The use of VoiceThread illustrates the possibilities for
asynchronous, collaborative learning in an online format.
Handout 1

Students are given the following prompts for their Voice Thread postings:

1. Answer one of the discussion questions in the Voice Thread

2. Post a discussion question for the class
3. Provide an example of a course concept that is illustrated in the Voice Thread
4. Post an observation of a concept from the chapter
5. Post a comment that illustrates your understanding of a course concept

Handout 2

The following prompts were used to help the students identify key findings from the Voice
Thread postings:

1. What aspects of nonverbal communication yielded discussion? For example, kinesics,

haptics, chronemics, etc.? Why do you think the members of the class found these aspects
interesting?
2. What examples of nonverbal communication did the members of the class share?
3. What observations/ comments did members of the class post about?
4. Did members of the class post about the significance of nonverbal communication in our
interpersonal relationships? If so, what observations did they make?
5. What about nonverbal communication in the workplace? Was there any discussion or
examples about nonverbal communication in this context? If so, what was said?
6. Were there concepts from chapter that members of the class seem to find particularly
interesting?
References

Keyton, J. (2011). Communication Research: Asking Questions, Finding Answers. New York:
McGraw Hill.
Owen, W. F. (1984). Interpretive themes in relational communication. Quarterly Journal of
Speech, 70, 274-287. Doi: 10.1080/00335638409383697
Pecot-Heber, L. (2012). To hybrid or not to hybrid, That is the question! Incorporating
Voice Thread technology into a traditional communication course, Communication
Teacher, 26(3), 129-134. http://dx.doi.org.10.1080/17404622.2011.650703