Voicethread reflections

Voicethread is basically a multimedia platform for people to share slideshows, videos and pictures containing ideas and thoughts. It allows users to say their thoughts out loud, doodle on their work which gives the entire presentation more dynamics. Audiences are given ample opportunities and methods to leave comments, eg. type it out or do it via webcam.

I brainstormed a few topics for my voicethread and came to decide upon talking about Bluefin Tuna because I wanted to talk about something academic (which was the criteria of the project). Initially I was wondering if it would generate sufficient response because my classmates might not be familiar with the topic. However, I decided to go for it in the end because I feel that this topic was worth mentioning. Following which, I did up some slides on powerpoint and converted it to pdf format for easy uploading to Voicethread. I wanted to try out how we could record our voices into a presentation because I thought that was really cool, and so I borrowed a microphone from my friend to give it a go! I think it turned out better than expected, and I like that function on voicethread.

The level of discussion that went on for most of the projects in the class was good. Many projects received many comments, especially the topic on global warming because it was a topic which many people had some knowledge about, and could share ideas upon. My project paled in comparison to that, but there were some constructive comments and discussion posted by some classmates, which helped others gain more knowledge.

Voicethread would succeed as a communication tool because of the diverse opportunities it gives audiences to respond to the contents posted. Not only that, it gives audiences the chance to comment on other audience's opinions, which makes interaction more fun. Furthermore, with just an email address, anyone can post their ideas on the platform. This convenience gives a lot of room for creativity and expression of opinion.

As for using Voicethread as an educational tool, I'm a little skeptical because looking at some of the comments posted on the projects, I find it difficult to regulate their quality. Random comments which present no depth of thought can be found, which might lead to negative learning. Thus it might pale in comparison to other forms of sharing knowledge which might have gone through more levels of thought. Having said that, it is still possible for Voicethread to be an effective educational tool once there is a more mature audience, and when the people sharing the information are more familiar with the tool and the objectives of creating the materials for sharing.