Collaboration+through+Voicethread

Session 7 - Collaboration through Voicethread - July 19, 2011 **Essential Questions**


 * 1) What is Voicethread and how can it be used as a collaborative tool?
 * 2) Why are collaborative skills important in the 21st century?

Create a page for " Session 7 ." Then Copy and paste the following questions into your Session 7 page, then respond to each question. Title the heading for this response "7.1 Collaboration"
 * 1) What is collaboration?
 * 2) What are 3 ways in which students collaborate in your classroom and are they successful?


 * 7.2 VIDEO --COLLABORATION**

The video below is a presentation by Randy Nelson the Dean of Pixar University. In this Video, Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age, Nelson discusses four keys to success for students in today's competitive work environment.

Watch the following video: Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age and as you watch, think about how his analysis can apply to your practice.

Having watched the video, copy the following questions into your ** Session 7 page**, and respond to each question. Title the heading "7.2 Video Response"
 * 1) How can expanded use of technology help develop depth and breadth for our students?
 * 2) What is the difference between cooperation and collaboration?
 * 3) What are the challenges in getting students to collaborate rather than just cooperating?

7.3 __Voicethread__
With Voicethread, group conversations are collected and shared in one place from anywhere in the world. All with **no software to install**. A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents and videos and allows people to navigate pages and leave comments in 5 different ways- using voice (with a mic or telephone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam). Share a VoiceThread with friends, students, and colleagues for them to record comments too. Users can doodle while commenting, use multiple identities and pick which comments are shown through moderation. VoiceThreads can even be embedded (such as the one below) to show and receive comments on other websites and exported to MP3 players or DVDs to play as archival movies.[|[1]]

__Voicethread Walkthrough__
Please watch the following Voicethread walkthrough to gain some familiarity with this resource: media type="custom" key="10830741"

>
 * Having watched the Voicethread walk through, go to your ** Session 7 ** page and insert a heading **called "7.3 Voicethread Definition.**" Briefly define a Voicethread in your own terms, summarize your initial impressions of Voicethread and the various ways it might be useful in your classroom.
 * 1) Voicethread [] 7-15-2010

7.4 __Example of Voicethread - teacher created__
Voicethread allows for students to use and hear their voices as part of their work. It allows for creativity and individuality, as well as for group work and the arena for ongoing conversations. Students can even use their cell phones to call their thoughts into a Voicethread. Voicethreads may be used for summarizing, for reviewing, or for providing fact and opinion pieces.

In the Voicethread below students were asked to respond to 3 questions posed by the teacher regarding Arizona Law sb1070. The teacher had students work in groups to collaborate on their responses and record their planned comments. Most groups chose to record their comments using microphones.


 * When you have finished viewing this Voicethread you will __ **comment** __ on it in your ** Session 7 ** page.

media type="custom" key="10830749"


 * Having viewed this teacher/student voicethread, __ **create a new heading** __ entitled **"7.4 Immigration Voicethread"** in your ** Session 7 ** page. Comment on the positives you saw and heard in this Voicethread and some aspects that you could see being improved upon.


 * 7.5 __Voicethread Exercise__**
 * Go to [|http://Voicethread.com] and create an account. Be sure to write your password down in a good place. You should also upload a picture of some sort as your Voicethread identity picture (some people use their own faces, some use a pet's picture, clip art, or another image they enjoy).

Below is our Voicethread that includes 3 cartoons related to technology.
 * Add one comment for __each cartoon__ - at least one voice comment, one typed comment, and, hopefully, one video using a webcam, if one is available to you (if not, you can add another voice comment).

media type="custom" key="10830759"

// You must be **Signed In** to comment // Having participated in a Voicethread, return to your Voicethread post on your Session 7 page and comment on how you could use Voicethread in your classroom. Title this heading "7.5 Voicethread in the classroom"

7.5 - Extension Activity If you would like to practice how a Voicethread works in a collaborative environment, try the following assignment.

What skills do our students need to be successful and how can the use of technology help our students to achieve those skills?
 * Work with a partner(s) from your assigned group and create your own collaborative Voicethread. The topic of the Voicethread is:


 * Make sure your Voicethread includes at least 3 images (still or video), at least one comment from each group member, and a clear response to the question.
 * Once you are happy with what you have created, embed it into your Session 7 page. To do this, you will need to open and watch a video demonstrating this procedure. The video link can be found under the Resources in the session.


 * 7.6 __Collaborative Voicethread__**
 * Next, you will work with your partner(s) from the previous session (Session 4: Communication) create your own collaborative Voicethread. The topic of the Voicethread is: **What skills do our students need to be successful and how can the use of technology help our students to achieve those skills?**


 * Make sure your Voicethread includes at least 3 images (still or video), at least one comment from each group member, and a clear response to the question.


 * Once you are happy with what you have created, __embed it into your Collaboration page in your virtual notebook__. To do this, you will need to open and watch a video demonstrating this procedure. The video link can be found under Task 7.6

[]


 * 7.6 __Forum Post__:**

Respond to the following prompts: Respond to other GROUP member's posts by the end of the week or as quickly as possible. Click on the "Add New Discussion" below to respond to the prompt.
 * How do you think Voicethread can improve student collaboration in your classroom?
 * How does the use of Voicethread fit with your vision of a 21st century classroom?