VoiceThread - Creating Group Presentations

General Information

VoiceThread is a robust discussion tool that gives students and faculty the ability to have asynchronous conversations using their voice, video, images, text and more. VoiceThread makes a great tool for class introductions, narrated slides, group dialogue and student presentations.

The steps below highlight important information to keep in mind when constructing VoiceThread Group Presentations. This is not an exhaustive list and may not exactly match your situation or assignment. It should however, provide you with instructions for general VoiceThread use.

Create the VoiceThread to be used by the group -

One group member needs to start the VoiceThread and invite the other group members to "Edit" the VoiceThread.

1. Go to your VoiceThread Home at https://stthomas.voicethread.com.
2. Create a VoiceThread and upload any presentation documents (PPTX, DOCX, PDF, JPG/PNG).
3. Give the VoiceThread a title that includes the group's members (ex. Wilder, Busch, Johnson - Group Presentation). 
4. Share the VoiceThread with the other group members and allow them to "Edit" the VoiceThread.
   1. You will need to enter each group member's email address and name into your VoiceThread Contact List to invite them to Edit. See VoiceThread Help on Sharing with an Individual. 
5. VoiceThreads are "slide based" meaning each slide can contain any number of media - documents, videos, audio, images, etc. And even after the main slide content is added, people can add content to other slides.  For now, don't worry about the order of the pages/slides. You can move them around and even add additional content later.
    

Record any videos you want to add to VoiceThread. You have a few options here -

Option A: Record the video inside VoiceThread by using your computer's web camera. Each group member can record their part of the video into separate slides in VoiceThread.

1. Open your VoiceThread and make sure you're logged in.
2. Click either the Add Media button or the large plus + sign and then select "Webcam video" to start recording with your computer's camera.
3. This method can be repeated by anyone, on as many slides as you need.
4. NOTE: Each recorded video displays on a separate slide. This way, group members can divide the presentation into various segments, but it still plays back like one contiguous presentation.
5. See VoiceThread Help on Recording Webcam videos.

Option B: Record the video outside of VoiceThread and upload it to VoiceThread. Choose this method if you've recorded a screen-capture or a Zoom or Panopto video. 

1. If you've recorded your presentation with an outside source, (including your phone or Zoom or Panopto), you still need to upload it to your VoiceThread presentation so others can comment on it.
2. Open your VoiceThread and make sure you're logged in.
3. Click either the Add Media button or the large plus + sign and then select "My Computer" or "Upload" as the source and upload the video to VoiceThread.
4. NOTE: The video can be in almost any format, but keep in mind a 3 GB file size limit.
5. See VoiceThread Help on File-types accepted.
    

Add group member's audio commentary and other presentation materials -

1.  After constructing the initial VoiceThread slides consisting of documents and videos, each group member can further narrate the presentation by adding Comments to each slide and even Annotate directly on the videos while the video is playing back.
2. Group members can also add PowerPoint or Keynote slides and images which can further enhance and flesh-out the presentation.
3. In VoiceThread, slides with content can be moved, deleted or the content replaced so in the end, your group presentation is a compilation of all member's contributions and Comments.
4. See VoiceThread Help on Editing VoiceThread Presentations.
    

Share your final presentation with your Instructor or others -

1. When your VoiceThread Presentation is ready to share with others, click the Share icon.
2. Set the permissions so others can "View and Comment." 
3. For sharing with your Instructor, copy the VoiceThread's URL link to your clipboard. Paste this URL link in a Canvas Assignment or Discussion where your Instructor can see it.  
4. For sharing with your class in Canvas, make sure you can see name of your Canvas course on the left side, under Groups.
5. Drag the VoiceThread on top of the appropriate Canvas course/Group.
6. See VoiceThread Help on Sharing with a Group.
    

Access and Review Other Group's VoiceThreads -

1. Access other group's VoiceThread presentations by following the VoiceThread link your Instructor set up in the Course Modules.
2. Peer reviewers can add Comments to any slide, by clicking on the large plus + sign at the bottom of that slide.
3. Comments can be made with text, audio, video, or other uploaded documents.
4. See VoiceThread Help on Commenting.