HOW TO MAKE A VOICETHREAD

Transcription

1 HOW TO MAKE A VOICETHREAD These guidelines should be used in conjunction with the VoiceThread presentation What in the world is a VoiceThread? VoiceThread is a web-based platform that allows you to record a presentation, including video, audio, or text commentary. Tips for Using VoiceThread You ll need a webcam. It s best if the presentation is recorded with video (and not just audio) as it increases engagement with the participants, but understand that audio alone (using only a microphone) is okay if all else fails. If your webcam and/ or microphone are not integrated into the computer (e.g. part of the laptop), please ensure that the webcam and microphone are fully installed onto your PC and functioning before beginning Voicethread. VoiceThread works best in Internet Explorer. Other browsers, especially Safari, can cause problems but can be used. Your slides must be converted to PDF to work in VoiceThread, so do not use animation in your slides (use multiple slides instead). Before You Begin using Voicethread Enable Cookies on Internet Explorer. For information on how to enable cookies, go to If you have a firewall, please take this test to make sure you can record comments: L&I Creating a VoiceThread. Page 1

2 Getting Started with VoiceThread Step 1: Go to and login using the Group Login and Password provided by your L&I TA. DO NOT USE ANY OTHER LOGIN (you may wish to add a photo that represents you group profile at this time as well). Step 2: Prepare you PowerPoint slides and convert your slides to PDF to work in VoiceThread, so do not use animation in your slides (use multiple slides instead). I also recommend that you prepare the script and time the script. VoiceThread does not time your recording. Step 3: Click on Create and 1. Upload to upload your slides into Voicethread. This will upload your slides into Voicethread Step 4: Checking on the settings The first thing you ll want to do is ensure you are set up properly. Right-click anywhere on the Voicethread, and you will get the following pop up menu: choose Settings. Working through each of the tabs at the bottom of the Adobe Flash Player Settings menu: a) Display: Check enable hardware acceleration L&I Creating a VoiceThread. Page 2

3 b) Privacy: Check Allow cdn voicethread to access you camera and microphone, and check Remember so you can skip this step in the future. c) Local Storage: Default is 100KB this doesn t have to be changed. Check never ask again to skip this step in the future d) Microphone: Use the dropdown menu to select the microphone you wish to use to record the Voicethread. (This step applies if you have more than one microphone available e.g. an integrated internal microphone already part of your lap top, and a second microphone that may be part of your webcam. Test out which microphone provides the clearest sound on the Voicethread and select that one) e) Camera: Use the dropdown menu to select the camera (webcam) you wish to use to record the Voicethread. (This step applies if you have more than one camera available e.g. an integrated internal webcam already part of your lap top, and a second webcam attached via USB port. Test out which webcam provides the clearest sound on the Voicethread and select that one) Step 6: Creating your presentation adding commentary L&I Creating a VoiceThread. Page 3

4 This is where the real content of your lecture will be recorded. Go up to the upper left-hand corner of your screen and select the wheel menu. The dropdown menu has three options. Choose Edit. Edit will open up a window with all your slides laid out in order. Choose Comment from the menu on the left (2 nd option) and that will take you to the beginning of your presentation. (You can use the forward and back arrows at the bottom of the screen to ensure you are at the beginning of your presentation). You are now ready to begin your presentation. Click on comment and select the video icon (using your webcam to comment). A small video window will pop up and you will get a 3 second countdown until you begin talking. When you are done talking, click Stop recording. The recording will playback so you can check whether you are satisfied with the recording. Once the playback is complete you can elect to Save the recording if you are satisfied, or select Cancel, if you want to record it again. A couple of things to note: Talk as naturally as possible and try and look into the camera. Do not worry about a few ums and ahs(!) here and there. You can advance your slides while you are talking (using the arrow in the Right hand side of the screen) should you choose not to make separate comments for each slide. It some instances this will help with the flow of the presentation especially to get the animation effect. That said, it is still preferable to record slide by slide as voicethread has a habit of flipping back over slides if you talk record over two slides. You can add to a comment you have already made on a particular slide - simply go to that slide, click comment and this comment will be added to the end of your last comment. Even if you saved a comment, you still have the opportunity to delete it later click on the comment you have made (should be on the left of the slide with your name/photo) and the comment will begin playing. Then click on the trash icon below the comment and you will have an option to delete the comment. You can move your slides around by going into the edit menu that displays all your slides, selecting the slide to be moved and dragging it to the correct position within the presentation. The comments will be moved with the slide. Likewise, any slide you delete will also lose its commentary. There is no timer on Voicethread, so please keep a check of recording time using other means (e.g. your computer clock) Note: You can also prepare a separate audio file and simply upload it to the comments using the uparrow in the comments options. L&I Creating a VoiceThread. Page 4

5 Writing on Your Slides (whiteboard feature): It is possible to write/ draw on your slides to make a particular point. To do this click on comment and select your mode of commenting (usually video ). You will note that a color wheel appears in the right hand corner below your slide. Select the color to be used for writing/drawing and use your mouse to annotate/draw on the slides. Note that your drawings/ notes will fade after a few seconds. If you do not want this to occur, click on the center white circle in the color wheel. Step 7: Sharing your Voicethread: Once you have finished recording your voicethread click on the Menu wheel (top left hand corner) and select Share. This will bring up the Share menu. Select Copy link to Share Simply paste this link into an and send this link to your L&I TA, and copied to Helen de Pinho and Allison Larr. asl2174@columbia.edu Questions? Concerns? Contact Helen de Pinho at hd2122@cumc.columbia.edu PS Here are some other helpful links: Here is a link to a tutorial on how to use VoiceThread I would encourage you to watch through to at least slide 4. You can also read more about making comments here: on_a_voicethread/ L&I Creating a VoiceThread. Page 5