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Using VoiceThread in your courses allows you to interact and engage with your students with audio, visual, and video elements. VoiceThread is embedded within the University's course management system, Brightspace. VoiceThreads can be used to share lectures, videos, or other instructor-created material or content. It can also be used to collect student assignments or interactions.
Sign into Brightspace and go to the course you’re currently working on.
Navigate to the module where you want the VoiceThread to live.
Click on Existing Activities and scroll down to find VoiceThread.
You'll choose between:
Assignment Builder: To build a graded watch, comment, or create assignment.
Individual VoiceThread: Usually used for instructor-created lecture content.
Course View: Displays a gallery view of all the VoiceThreads shared with this course.
VT Home Page: Takes users to the VoiceThread homepage. This is helpful for working on VoiceThreads over a longer period of time before sharing them.
For Individual VoiceThreads: you can choose to either Create a New VoiceThread or Select an Existing VoiceThread.
Click Create new VoiceThread in the upper left of the screen.
Add your files. This is the content that appears in the background. It could be a PDF, a presentation, an image, etc.
If you're using a file that has multiple pages, the individual pages should upload as individual slides.
Add comments by clicking on the plus icon then select the type of comment you want to add.
For audio and video recording, you get the option to draw on the screen (draw with your Apple Pencil). You can also use the plus and minus icon to zoom in on a specific part of the screen.
To move around while zoomed in, hold Shift on your keyboard and then drag your mouse where you want to go.
When you're done, click Stop Recording or Save.
Once you've added all of your comments, click Continue in the bottom left.
You'll then be able to review the options for types of comments allowed, Playback Options, and Permissions
Add an Activity Name. This is the name that will show in Brightspace. Click Publish.
The link is now added to the bottom of your content page.
Use As Is
If you're okay using the existing VoiceThread as is (all comments by you and/or anyone else will move over), select the VoiceThread and select Continue. You can still make edits before publishing.
Create a Copy
If you want to make a copy and edit the VoiceThread, find the VoiceThread you want to use and then select the three vertical dots and select Copy. You can then re-name the VoiceThread as well as decide which comments you want to copy. Consider that if previous students commented on the VoiceThread, you wouldn't want to choose to Include All Comments. Click Copy. Click Continue.
On the next page, you can edit the slides and or add additional media. Click Continue
On this page, you can see the VoiceThread and add any additional comments, click Continue
Add an Activity Name. This is what will show in Brightspace. Click Publish.
Your new link will be at the bottom of the Brightspace page.
For Assignment VoiceThreads, follow the steps in these documentation videos from VoiceThread. After you create your assignment, you'll need to go back into the assignment via the edit options to update the points associated with the assignment.
Prefer to watch the instructions? Check out our Creating Assignments Video Tutorial.
If you're having issues with VoiceThread loading properly, try these steps:
Update your browser to the latest version.
Enable third-party cookies/cross-site tracking in the browser.