VACT

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VACT (Voice-Activated Collaboration Tool) is a software and an app that has the ability to bring real life discussion to podcasts, audio books, videos (think TedTalks), lectures, readings, and more! The app would allow the student to listen to the audio and interrupt with key words such as, Pause, Stop, Rewind 10 seconds, or Fast forward 20 seconds. The capabilities don't stop there. Students can also say: Discuss, Note, or Reflection. This site will dig into how you can utilize VACT to engage students in new ways using voice-activated mobile technology.

About the author

Hello! My name is Natalie and I'm an Instructional Designer. I've been designing higher education courses for the past 10 years. Over the last several of those years, I've been integrating more and more audio components, including podcasts and mini lectures, into my course designs. They are mobile, accessible, and provide alternate means to meet student outcomes and a build number of other skills. I have received positive feedback from both students and educators. Being a believer in students having an opportunity to interact and learn from one another, I was thinking about how we can build peer-to-peer interaction into the listening of audio only lectures, podcasts, videos, etc. (which has a tendency to be a siloed task). Here is my take on what the future of that might look like.