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VoiceThread at PSU: Hands On Training Session March 11, 2013

By MATTHEW N MEYER on February 27, 2013 2:35 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks
For those interested in getting a hands-on training experience for using VoiceThread at Penn State, save March 11, 2013 on your calendar. This session, "Getting Started with VoiceThread", provides you the opportunity to try out the various functions of the VoiceThread platform with a facilitator overseeing your work, providing guidance and answering questions. Participants will explore uses for VoiceThread, which may include lecture delivery, student presentations, peer reviews, collective commenting on VoiceThread content, or collaborative project work.

How to Register
Go to the ITS registration page and select the Register button. 

When
This will be Monday, March 11 in Wagner Building at University Park from 8:30-10:30. 

What is VoiceThread?
VoiceThread is web-based interactive discussion tool that allows video, audio, and text commenting on uploaded images, videos, slide shows, documents and other shared content. It is a completely cloud-based application and is a Penn State centrally-supported platform.

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You Can Now Receive Email Notifications of Comments!

By MATTHEW N MEYER on February 14, 2013 9:46 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks
VoiceThread at Penn State is announcing the release of a new feature that enables users to receive email notifications when another person has made a comment on a VoiceThread. The ability to receive such notifications has been a popular request, particularly from instructors that use VoiceThread. 

Instructors and students alike may find this feature particularly useful. Instructors may use this to help manage their work in providing feedback within the rubrics they created for VoiceThread assignments. Instead of having to go into VoiceThread to constantly browse for new comments, they can receive an email the moment someone has made a comment on a VoiceThread and who has made it. Students may use it similarly, using the notifications to manage workflows and cut time in surfing VoiceThreads trying to find new comments and feedback.

Changing Your Notification Settings
Each VoiceThread at Penn State user's notifications settings start with a default position of "off". To change them, do the following:

  1. Log in to VoiceThread at Penn State
  2. Navigate to your My Account page
  3. Once there, go to the Notifications page.

You will then be on the Email Notification Settings panel.

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You will have the option to receive email notifications of comments on VoiceThreads that you have:
  • Created
  • Subscribed to
  • Commented on (even if you did not create it)
  • Had shared with you (if someone has shared a VoiceThread with you but you did not create it)
Receiving Notifications
Once you turn on an email notification setting, you will receive an email whenever someone comments on a VoiceThread to the degree of what you have turned "on" in your settings. The email you receive looks like this:

VT_email_notification.png
Note that each notification provides an option to have VoiceThread stop sending you notifications. This allows you to unsubscribe immediately, without having to go back into VoiceThread to turn your setting to "off".

A Space to Discuss Pedagogy with VoiceThread: Yammer VoiceThread Advocates

By MATTHEW N MEYER on November 9, 2012 4:26 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks
For instructors interested in participating in active dialog about experiences, designs and best practices around using VoiceThread for teaching and learning, we have created a new group in Penn State's Yammer network called "VoiceThread Advocates at PSU". Our goal is to make this Yammer group the active space for sharing, discussing and exploring opportunities around VoiceThread at Penn State.

Quick Background about Yammer at Penn State
We are employing the exciting new tool at Penn State, Yammer, as the platform for this community of practice. For those not yet familiar, Yammer is Penn State's official social networking platform. It is currently active in a "soft rollout", meaning it is fully operational but has not been communicated University-wide just yet. To learn more about it, go to the Yammer at Penn State service website at http://yammer.psu.edu.

How To Get to the Yammer Group
To get to the Yammer "VoiceThread Advocates at PSU" group:
  1. Go to  http://yammer.psu.edu and select the Go to Yammer link.
  2. If you have not yet created your Yammer account, follow the steps to do so, being sure to use your Penn State (.psu.edu) email address as your login. 
  3. Once in Yammer, use the search box in the top of the interface and type in "VoiceThread Advocates at PSU".
  4. Upon seeing the group listing, select it to go to the group.
  5. On the group page, click the + Join button
Yammer provides a fantastic platform for all kinds of users to discuss, share and collaborate around the use of VoiceThread. Please feel free to recommend this group to any and all you feel would benefit from joining the group. We hope to see you there!

Pedagogical Discussions for Using VoiceThread on May 10

By MATTHEW N MEYER on May 1, 2012 10:05 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks
As part of it's annual SummerFest training sessions, Penn State's ITS Training Services is offering a one-hour workshop entitled, "Effectively Using VoiceThread for Teaching and Learning". 

When: May 10th 10:00am- 11:00am
Where: 210 IST
Who: Matt Meyer, Senior Instructional Designer in Education Technology Services (ETS) and the current service manager for the VoiceThread at Penn State university-wide service will lead this session. 

...and What
This workshop will focus on the pedagogical uses of VoiceThread, including discussions around real VoiceThread examples from instructors at Penn State, current best practices for integration into a course, and other strategies for using this tool in teaching and learning practices. It will also help more fully explain the type of support available, both technical and pedagogical, for any Penn State users of VoiceThread.

Register!
If you are interested in this workshop, be sure to register for it soon. We look forward to a lively discussion!

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Getting More Phone Minutes as a VoiceThread at Penn State User

By MATTHEW N MEYER on April 27, 2012 12:48 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks
Have you been using VoiceThread at Penn State's phone commenting feature but have noticed you are low on available minutes? If so, you can get more minutes added to your account simply by putting a request in to the ITS VoiceThread Help Desk.

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How It Works and What to Do
The VoiceThread at Penn State service provides each user a default amount of 3 phone minutes to utilize to make phone comments in VoiceThread. The service has a large 'pool' of additional phone minutes it can provision to any users who will need more.

If you would like to request more phone minutes, go to http://voicethread.psu.edu/ and in the Help block, select Ask VoiceThread at Penn State. Fill in your request and be sure to include your Penn State username and email.

What NOT To Do
Do not select the Add button from the phone number entry dialog box (see image above). This will send you down a path for paying for phone minutes. As a VoiceThread at Penn State user, you do not need to purchase additional minutes! 



New Feature in VoiceThread: Comment Timestamp

By MATTHEW N MEYER on February 22, 2012 12:53 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks
Last week, VoiceThread released a new feature in it's interface. It allows you to rollover the segments in the comment timeline to view the following information on the comment:

  • The name of the user that made the comment
  • The date that comment was made
  • The exact time the comment was made
How it Works
Users can view this information by simply rolling their mouse over the segment without having to play that particular comment. Even if you are playing a different comment, you will be able to rollover other comments in the timeline to view this information.

In addition, when you rollover the comment in the timeline, the avatar of that commenter will highlight so that you can match up the user name with the visual that user has provided as their avatar, which is usually a picture of their face.

Comment_timeline_feature_70pct.jpg

Impacts for Instructors
For instructors that are assessing VoiceThread comments from students, this feature is extremely beneficial. Without having to actually play comments now, instructors can more quickly determine:

  • When it was submitted: Instructors can view the precise date and time a comment was submitted by an individual and compare that to the actual deadline that students had been given for the assignment.
  • How many comments: This feature also allows instructors to quickly scan a comment timeline to see how many comments a particular student may have made on a specific slide in VoiceThread.

Try It for Yourself!
The best way to see this new feature in action is to try it yourself. Simply sign in to your VoiceThread at Penn State account and open any of your VoiceThreads; the feature should already be working for you.


VoiceThread now has a Mobile App!

By MATTHEW N MEYER on November 7, 2011 3:57 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks
After a summer of anticipation, VoiceThread recently released it's VoiceThread Mobile App. They have done a great job of transferring the VoiceThread user experience to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. This is an exciting development for those with VoiceThread at Penn State accounts because this app is very well designed for the mobile user experience. I encourage you to see the VoiceThread Mobile page for details and if you are a user of VoiceThread now, go right to iTunes store, download it and try it out.

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Here is the quick information:
  • Cost: FREE
  • Where to get it: Apple App Store
  • Platforms: iOS (runs on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch)
  • Account integration: Works with your VoiceThread at Penn State account (see below to see how)

Some Things to Know
Here is a quick list of things to know for VoiceThread at Penn State users before getting started using the VoiceThread Mobile App:

1. Activate Your VoiceThread at Penn State account first. Before trying the VoiceThread Mobile App, be sure you have created your VoiceThread at Penn State account first. If you haven't done that, go to http://voicethread.psu.edu/ and click "Sign In". This will take you to the web access sign in screen. Sign in and you will enter VoiceThread. It's that simple.

2 How to Sign In as a VoiceThread at Penn State user. Upon sign in, there is a step where you will first need to tell VoiceThread that you are a Penn State user. Here's how:

1. Open the App. 
2. Tap the "Account" area at the bottom of the App. 
3. Tap "Sign in."
4. Tap "Edit." 
5. Enter "psu" in the Custom Domain field. 
6. Click the blue "Save" button at the top of the screen. 
7. Tap the blue "Done" button at the top of the screen. 

This will direct you to the PSU web access sign-in page, where you can sign into your account normally. Once you sign in, you'll be able to proceed with using your account in the App.

3. Check out the Mobile Support information. For questions on using the mobile App, go to VoiceThread's How To/Mobile Support page. There is great information on how to use the App and VoiceThread updates it frequently.

Flipping the Classroom with VoiceThread

By MATTHEW N MEYER on October 25, 2011 2:37 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks
There may be no hotter topic in the educational field related to teaching and learning than "flipping the classroom" right now. For those unsure of that term, it simply refers to a model of teaching where students consume the information for a course (traditionally the "lecture" portion) outside the classroom and then do their 'homework' or hands-on activities in the classroom. 

Michelle Pacansky-Brock is an innovative instructor, speaker and overall high-octane advocate for leveraging web technologies for teaching and learning in higher education. In this capacity, she was an early adopter and frequent user of VoiceThread. With her background and the latest focus on "flipping" classrooms, Michelle just last week published an engaging presentation on about flipping the classroom using VoiceThread. This is part of Michelle's recently-launched VoiceThread webinar series.

In it, she describes her own experiences in 'flipping' the classroom for an Art History class she teaches. Click the link to launch this vimeo presentation!


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VoiceThread at Penn State: Simply Speaking Video!

By MATTHEW N MEYER on September 22, 2011 11:45 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks
Penn State has produced a 'Simply Speaking' video that quickly explains VoiceThread and it's availability to all faculty, students and staff at the University. This video is aimed at faculty and instructors. It's short (barely over 2 minutes) and is a great resource for introducing this tool to instructors interested in checking out VoiceThread!

VoiceThread at Penn State: For Faculty

New VoiceThread Tip from a Leading Advocate: Multiple Identities

By MATTHEW N MEYER on August 26, 2011 4:49 PM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks
Michelle Pacansky-Brock is a leading advocate for the use of VoiceThread (among other web-based technologies). Last week, she posted on a new technique she will try out this fall semester. The technique involves using multiple identities to provide different types of comments for her students.

First, know that Michelle has been using VoiceThread for 4 years as an instructor in the California system of higher education. Through her experience using VoiceThread, she has recently realized she leaves three types of comments in VoiceThread:
  • Introductory Comments
  • Sample Comments
  • Feedback Comments
The current issue she is attempting to solve is that students are unable to determine what kind of comment she has left in a particular VoiceThread (intro, sample or feedback). Check out the link below to see how she is planning to help students differentiate comments in a VoiceThread using the ability to create multiple identities in VoiceThread:

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