What is it & Why use it?
Review the VoiceThread at SPS page for answers to these questions.
On this page you’ll find:
- Getting Started
- VoiceThread Assignments
- Troubleshooting VT
- Support for SPS Faculty
- Special Presentation Features in VT
- Accessibility
- Mobile Devices
- Additional Resources
Getting Started
- How to add a VoiceThread activity to an SPS Blackboard course – Review this tutorial to learn the basic steps to add VT to Blackboard
- How to Create a New VoiceThread Presentation
- How to Grade a VoiceThread Assignment
- Automatic Captions are available inside VT
- VoiceThread’s Blackboard Support Page contains links to several articles to learn more about VT
- Configure VoiceThread in Blackboard – if you don’t see the “SPS VoiceThread LTI One” menu item in your Build Content menu, then you’ll need to follow these steps to configure VT.
Please Note: Your CUNY SPS VoiceThread account is configured to be used from within Blackboard. All Bb users (instructors and students) automatically have VoiceThread accounts that are activated the first time VoiceThread is accessed from within Blackboard.
VoiceThread Assignments
Using the assignment builder to create a VT assignment offers features to make the experience more efficient. When you build a VT assignment, you’ll find students’ comments are aggregated in one place with the ability to score their responses with either a point value or a percentage. The score is automatically transferred to the corresponding Grade Center column in Blackboard. Click on How to Use New Assignments to learn more.
Troubleshooting VT
The most frequent issue that arises is the wrong browser settings. VT requires us to Allow 3rd Party Cookies and Local Storage. For other issues, please visit VT’s Troubleshooting page.
Support for SPS Faculty
Our Media Team is available to meet with SPS Faculty one-on-one to support VoiceThread set up. To request a meeting or ask a question, send us an email at FacultySupport@sps.cuny.edu.
Additionally, VoiceThread maintains several free workshops here: VT Workshop page.
Special Presentation Features in VT
- Replying to Comments: You have several options for replying to comments: You can use direct reply, private reply, threaded comments, or moderated comments. You can find information on these options and more on VoiceThread’s commenting help page.
- M/5 Commenting: When leaving a voice or video comment, you can either comment on each individual slide or create a lecture using several or all of the slides at once, which is called an M/5 comment. An M/5 comment allows you to narrate an entire collection of media in one unbroken comment.
- Annotation Tools: When leaving a voice or video comment, you can annotate or doodle on the media you are discussing. To learn how, see VoiceThread’s Doodling help page.
- Editing: To edit an existing VoiceThread, See VoiceThread’s editing help page.
- Copying: If you want to reuse a VoiceThread in a later semester, you can copy it with or without comments. To copy an existing VoiceThread, see VoiceThread’s copying help page.
- Allow Users to Add Files: You may want to allow students to add files to your VoiceThread. To learn how, see VoiceThread’s help page on allowing users to add files.
- Zooming: You can zoom into the media, either when viewing a VoiceThread or while recording a comment. See VoiceThread’s zooming help page
Accessibility
- Automatic captions are applied to all media and comments that contain audio
- VoiceThread Universal is compatible with screenreaders – students with screenreaders are automatically referred to the Universal version
- See VoiceThread’s Accessibility page
Mobile Devices
VoiceThread may be used from mobile devices via the VoiceThread app on Android and iOS. Download the iOS app here. Download the Android app here.
Additional Resources
