This is a step by step guide to creating a VoiceThread using still images created in Tux Paint or with photos.

PART 1- Create Identity Pictures on TUX Paint

1st Week- Get the students to draw an image of themselves on Tux Paint (a new program on the network).

The drawing tools are similar to other drawing packages but when the students click “Save” it saves automatically into in a folder called “saved”. These pictures are much more user friendly for PhotoStory, Voicethread and blogs as you will not have to export them before you use them.

Here is a link to a short video on how TuxPaint works.

Ask students to draw themselves (head and shoulders will do). Save it and start a new file for free drawing (use the new button to avoid copying over the image that they have just done.)

Use Save and New to start another drawing.

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PART 2- PHOTOS

Take photos of the student’s work – no faces but you can be creative if you want to include the students holding or pointing to their work somehow. Photos will work better if you don’t use the highest resolution on your camera because the photos have to be uploaded to the internet and smaller size photos will load more quickly.

Alternately you could have the students draw about the work they are doing in Tux Paint.

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PART 3- VOICETHREAD

3.1 Photos or Pictures

Go to the VoiceThread site, click on “Create”and Login with the details you used when you signed up. Upload your photo or photos from your computer. You can have a page for each student, or a page for a group of students, or a single page.

If you haven’t signed up yet, and you need some help, you could use these directions How to sign up for Voicethread as an educator.

3.2 Identities

Make an Identity for each student in your class. Once these are made they are in your account for any new VoiceThreads that you make- you only have to do this once!

Type the student’s first name only and then browse to find their picture that they have made in Tux. (At our school it will be in “L drive” in the students folder in “saved”.) You will be able to see the image if you view the thumbnails. VoiceThread automatically allocates an icon for each name so the Tux pictures can be added later if you prefer by using the edit button.

Once the identities have been made you are ready to start recording the student comments.

3.3 Audio Comments

Comments can be added in a number of ways.

Method 1: In my experience it is easier to have the students record their comments with their buddy helper using another program and then to upload the comments into VoiceThread as they are finished. If you are using this Method then I would use AudioTouch (which is in the programs folder) to record the audio. The students can record more than one file as VoiceThread allows more than one file on each identity or you can “join” all the audio files in AudioTouch to make it quicker to upload.

Method 2: You can have the students come to the teacher’s computer with VoiceThread and record directly onto their identity one by one. Similar to a class Photostory.

Make sure you choose the right identity for each recording. It is easy to forget to change and it can not be moved to another identity- it has to be deleted and redone.

There are VoiceThread tutorials on your VoiceThread account which are well worth a look. If uploading photos and sound takes a long time then the settings on your computer may need adjusting.

Once you have finished your VoiceThread you can embed it onto your class blog. If you update the VoiceThread then it automatically updates on your blog as well.

This is the workflow to create the following Voicethread.

It is a work under progress but now we know the process from start to collaborate.

Step 1

Students each hand-drew a picture of themselves. (They could have just as easily drawn it using drawing software on the computer, saved it as a jpeg and then we could have uploaded it directly)

Step 2

I used the digital camera to take a photo of each picture and uploaded the pictures to the computer which was quicker than scanning.

Step 3

Open Voicethread and chose a picture to upload which represented the topic (Friendship). We used clipart for convenience but you could use photos or student art just as easily.

Step 4

Add the new identities of the students by uploading their pictures that they drew of themselves.

Step 5

Have the students practice what they are going to say for their comments

Step 6

Connect a microphone and have the students take turns to record their comments on one computer. Don’t forget to switch identities for each student

Step 7

Add titles etc.

Step 8

Use the Share button to send the voicethread to collaborators or copy the link and email it to them. Use the code provided to embed your Voicethread on your blog.

This is a step by step guide for teachers to sign up for a free educator account on Voicethread.

1. Go to Voicethread and click on Register.

2. Continue to Register for a new account

3. Continue to fill in the details but click on the Educators link not the register button.

Fill in the details about your school to prove you are an educator and use your edumail or school email address in the School email address section.

Click on “apply” and then all you have to do is click on the link that will be sent to your school email address.

You now have a free educators account. You can upgrade to the Pro Educators account for a one off payment of $10 which will give you more storage. Compare the two accounts and decide what is best for your needs.

Great Podcast from the ICT guy (ICTGUY0804 – Voice Thread, Remote Access & 1 to 1    Podcast number 4 April 7th, 2008. )-  The impact of Operating Systems (OS) on the way that students and teachers work was very interesting. Comparing the 3 OS, Windows, Mac and Linux and what the computer comes with suggests what they will be used for. The Mac systems come with a creative suite of tools that students use to create multimedia products, the Linux system comes with very little hard drive space but links to online communities encouraging collaborative and communicative work, while the Windows machines come with the Microsoft Office products suggesting that they will be used for….

An interesting idea but isn’t that often how change actually takes place. For example if we want to start using the intranet in our school as the main form of communication to reduce paper we actually have to stop giving people the option. Change will only genuinely happen when we eliminate the alternative- that is the paper version.

If this is true then educators can affect a change in the way students use computers through the operating systems of the computers so they must consider carefully what they want for their learning community when they are providing technology for the classroom.

In this podcast there was also a great recording from a conference about the benefits of one laptop per student in classrooms.

ICTGUY0804 – Voice Thread, Remote Access & 1 to 1    Podcast number 4 April 7th, 2008.