11090

11090

General Session - Conference Presentation Only (no formal paper)

Unleashing the Voice Within: Strategies for Using VoiceThread to Support Instruction
Danilo M Baylen, University of West Georgia Carrollton, Georgia, USA, dbaylen@westga.edu Kevin Mobbs, University of West Georgia Carrollton, Georgia, USA, kmobbs@westga.edu

Session Overview Session will describe, discuss, and demonstrate how VoiceThread as Web 2.0 application can help prepare students for the demands of the 21st century classroom and work place. Given this context, the presentation will discuss varied teaching and learning strategies including peer review, collaboration, and content development in meeting curricular expectations in a rapidly changing technology-rich environment. Examples of student-generated projects will be shown as demonstrations to what faculty members can do in their classrooms. Also, assessment ideas and strategies will be shared on how VoiceThread-supported activities can be better integrated in student-produced projects. Finally, the presenter will engage the audience in discussing issues and challenges in assisting faculty to integrate this technology in their teaching practices.

Relevance to Theme Budget cuts have limited the resources available to faculty members in support of their teaching practices especially in higher education institutions. A Web 2.0 tool, such as a VoiceThread, is free and accessible to anyone who has Internet access (NOTE: There is a fee for premium subscriptions). This application can easily be learned by faculty members and use in their classes to engage their students especially in delivering and discussing complex, discipline-specific content and materials. Also, having the availability of this tool to faculty members will create opportunities to expand access opportunities for learning, teaching, assessment, and engagement activities.

Audience Participation The presenters will engage the audience in discussing issues and challenges in assisting faculty to integrate this technology in their teaching practices. After an overview of the VoiceThread (15 minutes), the participants will view selected student generated projects (20 minutes). A whole group discussion will follow the experience where participants discuss their ideas on how the issues and challenges of assisting faculty members in using this tool (15 minutes). At the end, the presenter will conduct a question and answer period (10 minutes).

All Audiences Online learning, Web 2.0, online collaboration