Category: VoiceThread Sidebar

VoiceThread – Overview of the New VoiceThread

JHU’s VoiceThread browser-based platform transitions to the New VoiceThread in Summer 2024. This page presents some of the features we want you to learn about plus some additional resources to learn more.

Comparison

A side-by-side look at features that are new and those that are remaining

NEW VoiceThread

HOME (My Voice) Page

The layout is cleaner.

Legacy VoiceThread

Legacy HOME (My Voice) Page

This layout is going away.

Features that are new:

  • Search by course, group, or ThreadBox
  • Sort presentations by activity date
  • The VoiceThread Learning Center (case studies, research, blog, tutorials, etc.) can be accessed via the graduation cap icon in the horizontal, top navigation bar
  • Left-side navigation panel now displays a list of all VoiceThreads in an alternate, compact view

Features that are staying:

  • Browse all public VoiceThreads in JHU domain
  • Search by presentation title
  • Sort presentations by date created and title
  • Filter VoiceThreads by owned, shared, subscribed
  • View VoiceThreads by list or thumbnail images
  • Left-side navigation panel allows display of groups, courses, and ThreadBoxes
  • Number of “recent activity” comments linking to a drop-down
NEW VoiceThread

OPEN Presentation View

The new layout includes the collapsible gallery of slides.

Legacy VoiceThread

Legacy OPEN Presentation View

The legacy layout included a comment’s play bar across the entire display. Viewing the gallery of slides meant going to a different view.

Features that are new:

Features that are staying:

  • Traditional “comments per slide” view
  • Annotate while commenting
  • Automatically caption files and edit them
NEW VoiceThread

CREATE/Edit a Presentation

The new layout includes a single “add media” button being relocated to the top of your existing slides’ thumbnail images. Additionally, there is now a left navigation pane, matching the home screen.

Legacy VoiceThread

CREATE/Edit a Legacy Presentation

The legacy editing layout’s “comment” option was a bit misleading as it opened the presentation in the display view, whether or not a comment was going to be made.

Features that are new:

  • The side navigation menus from the home (My Voice) page is visible
  • The thumbnails are a sort of interactive bookmark: clicking on one opens the presentation at that slide
  • Thread settings (playback, commenting, permissions) are now a main menu item

Features that are staying:

  • Upload, download, edit, replace, or delete media of the same file types
  • Customize the title, description, and custom cover image/art for the presentation

Discontinued Items

  • The full-screen switch/button has been removed. You can still use your browser’s full-screen mode:
  • VoiceThread Universal is being retired. The new browser interface is fully accessible.

Resources to Learn More

VoiceThread Support:

VoiceThread Blog:

JHU Support:

Special Thanks to Celine Greene (BSPH Instructional Design Team) for compiling this information.

 

VoiceThread – Faculty & Student Guide

Note:

JHU’s VoiceThread browser-based platform transitions to the New VoiceThread in Summer 2024. See Overview of the New VoiceThread for some of the features we want you to learn about plus some additional resources to learn more.

VoiceThread is web-based presentation software that allows users to create and share interactive multimedia slideshows. VoiceThread presentations are used to showcase audio, video, images, and documents while allowing users to comment on them in a variety of ways. The result is an ongoing, asynchronous, digital conversation that can be easily shared with individuals, groups, and/or embedded into different websites.

Logging In

See Sign in voicethread.com.

You can also access VoiceThread in Canvas via its integration for Canvas courses.

Browse (top): Browse publicly available VoiceThreads
Learning Center (top): Case studies, research, blog, tutorials, etc.
Create a new VoiceThread (top): Create and edit your VoiceThreads
VoiceThread Support (top right): you can find a link to get help with VoiceThread
Courses, Groups, Threads, ThreadBoxes (left): Access to all your Courses, Groups, Threads and ThreadBoxes

Identity icons (on the left side) indicate comments that have been left by viewers.
Click the Make a Comment button (on the lower left) to leave a comment.
At the bottom of the window, you can navigate to the next or previous slide, or show all slides (Gallery).
You can also zoom in or out using the plus/minus bottoms on the right side of the slide.

Setting Up your Microphone

If you intend to use the audio record feature, you will need a working microphone. Please see the following instructions to set up a microphone on your Mac or Windows.

VoiceThread How-To Documentation

Note that at this time the site has both New VoiceThread (New VT) and Legacy VoiceThread (Legacy VT) instructions. JHU will be using the New VoiceThread in Summer 2024.

Using VoiceThread in a Canvas Course

See https://canvas.jhu.edu/faculty-resources/third-party-tools/third-party-tool-voicethread/

Creating a VoiceThread

See https://voicethread.com/howto/creating-a-new-voicethread-2/ which contains a walkthrough on how to create a VoiceThread.

Adding a Comment to a VoiceThread Presentation

See https://voicethread.com/howto/how-to-comment/.

Editing a VoiceThread

See https://voicethread.com/howto/editing-an-existing-voicethread-2/

Sharing a VoiceThread

Any VoiceThread that you create is private by default. You can then decide who gets to see it and what level of permission they have. You can allow others to view, comment on, or edit your VoiceThreads. These permissions can be granted to specific individuals or to groups of people. You can also revoke sharing permissions at any time so that others can no longer access a shared VoiceThread.

Common ways to share:

VoiceThread Known Issues

Authentication Issues

VoiceThread Account Verification

  • You get a screen stating “You already have a VoiceThread account under the email address [email protected].”

account verification

Note: the VoiceThread password is NOT your JHED password; you will need to reset the local password used by VoiceThread.

1. From the verification page, click on the link that says “Reset“. This will take you to the password-reset page.

2. Enter the email address to have the password-reset email sent.

Note: email must be deliverable.

3. Check your email; you should receive something like:

Reset your VoiceThread password email

Note: If you do not receive the email to reset password, check your SPAM/JUNK mail folder.

4. Follow the link to the VoiceThread – Password Reset screen and change your local password.

VoiceThread - Password Reset

5. Once you’ve changed the password, clear your Browser cookies and quit Browser windows.

6. Relaunch Browser, go back to the VoiceThread link again.

7. Enter the new local password on the Account Verification page.

If you have trouble merging accounts, please contact [email protected] and tell us the existing email and your new account.

Browser Issues

VoiceThread is supported in full in:

VoiceThreads can be opened and viewed, but audio and video cannot be recorded in the following browsers. As these browsers evolve to support HTML5, this may change.

  • Safari
  • Microsoft Edge

Internet Explorer does not support HTML5 and therefore cannot be used with VoiceThread.

For the best possible experience, your web browser should be fully up to date, but at minimum no more than two versions behind.

Troubleshooting

VoiceThread

 

What is VoiceThread?

VoiceThread is web-based presentation software that allows users to create and share interactive multimedia slideshows. VoiceThread presentations are used to showcase audio, video, images, and documents while allowing users to comment on them in a variety of different ways. The result is a digital conversation that can be easily shared with individuals, groups, and/or embedded into different websites, including Canvas, the learning management system used here at Johns Hopkins.

Johns Hopkins has licensed VoiceThread to gives us the following features:

  • authentication with our Johns Hopkins Enterprise Authentication
  • integration with Student Information Systems enrollments
  • integration with Canvas
  • ‘Basic’ accounts for JHU affiliates
  • a certain number of ‘Pro’ accounts
  • ability to create Groups
  • ability to share securely
  • unlimited number of VoiceThreads
  • ability to upload audio files as comments
  • more storage capacity

More information:

Computer Requirements

  • Browser – must accept cookies
  • Microphone – optional, but highly suggested
  • Webcam – optional

Setting up your Microphone

If you intend to use the audio commenting feature, you will need a working microphone. To do this, we highly suggest you use a USB headset microphone. If you have ever participated in a LiveTalk or Adobe Connect session, the same mic can be used. You can also use the microphone that is built in to your computer. Please see the following linked instructions to set up a microphone on your Mac or PC.

Logging into VoiceThread

There are two main ways to access JHU’s VoiceThread

Note:

If you already have a free VoiceThread account outside of JHU, you may see a notification that you need to merge your old account into the new JHU account. Simply enter your email address to continue. You will then be directed to the VoiceThread home page, where you should see any VoiceThreads you previously created or subscribed to.

VoiceThread Account Verification

  • If you have previously logged into voicethread.com AND you have started using the VoiceThread tool within Canvas, you may initially get prompted for VoiceThread Account Verification.
  • See VoiceThread Known Issues.

Mobile app

Tutorials

FAQ

What’s the difference between Basic and Pro Accounts?

By default, anyone who can log into voicethread.com will get a Basic account. Instructors will want to get upgraded to a Pro account.

Basic Pro
Create Groups No Yes
Number of VoiceThreads 50 Unlimited
Upload audio files as comments Yes Yes
Slides per VoiceThread 500 500

How do I get a Pro account?

Instructors can contact [email protected] to request to have their VoiceThread accounts upgraded to Pro.

VoiceThread Data Cleanup Policy

Starting on July 1, 2022 VoiceThread will be implementing a data clean-up policy that might result in some inactive accounts being deleted. See VoiceThread Data Cleanup Policy for more information.