teaching with tech presentation

25 Types of Fun VoiceThreads

for Foreign Language Classes

Elena Kostoglodova,

GSLL, CU-Boulder

This presentation is for those who

know how to create VoiceThreads and

are looking for fun ideas for using VT

in foreign language teaching. Here are

25 different ideas in one place!

Storytelling in pictures

Import a succession of images (f.e. the daily

schedule of a character, a dialog, a situation, a

tale, etc.).

Ask students to record their own stories based on

the visual prompts.

Variation: students invent the ending.

example from an English class

more about this voicethread

http://bluford.pbworks.com/w/page/23291996/

Three%20Little%20Pigs%20VoiceThread

Map games

Upload a map of the world or a region in the

target language into the Voicethread.

Start a chain game where you describe a location

in the target language and the student who posts

the first comment guesses that location and

describes a new one for the next student.

Variation: ask to describe the fastest/cheapest/etc.

way between points A and B, taking into account

some conditions/handicaps you impose.

example from an ESL class

http://voicethread.com/about/library/Lan

guage_learners_use_VoiceThread_to_pra

ctice_speaking/

Open-ended question

Upload a picture of an object that typically has

personalized content (a bag, a room, a fridge, etc.)

and ask an open-ended question about it, such as

“what’s in your bag/fridge/room right now?”

Variation: ask for particulars about a common

possession, such as a car.

example from a Spanish class

http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/bsdbs

d/2009/11/29/voicethread-in-spanish-

whats-in-your-room/

example from a blog

http://zoningoutagain.blogspot.com/2007/

11/whats-in-your-bag.html

Riddles

Create a voicethread in which you describe an

object in the target language orally (a food, a gift,

a clothing item, an animal, etc.) or in a

combination of voiceover/written description. Ask

students to guess what the object could be and

post their guesses as comments. Best riddles

would be those that allow multiple

interpretations.

example from a blog

http://wwwatanabe.blogspot.com/2011/03

/voicethread-your-riddles.html

example from Language Arts

http://coalhurstelementary.wikispaces.co

m/Fairy+Tale+Riddles

Video clip+questions

Upload a short video in the target language

and ask comprehension questions about the

events/dialog in the video. Have students

post comments in which they attempt to

answer these questions.

example from film analysis

http://coursedesign.uidaho.edu/feed/

Creative brainstorming

In this voicethread describe a challenging cultural

situation in the target language and ask students

to brainstorm for possible solutions and post their

comments.

example from a VoiceThread

http://voicethread.com/#q+bullying+solut

ions.b2503860.i13258246

Describe a picture

Post a picture of just about anything and ask

students to describe what they see in the target

language.

example from a blog

http://ticnoingles.blogspot.com/2010/07/v

oicethread-describe-leonardo-

dicaprio.html

Informational

presentation

In this type of voicethread, students share as

much information as they can find about a topic

of their choice, using both visuals and voiceover

in the target language. They can focus on a

relevant cultural ritual, an object or place from

the target-language country, etc.

example from a science class

http://www.digitalpedagog.org/?p=698

Creating an ad

Ask students to pick a product/service they find

appealing and to create an ad for it using both fun

visuals and the voiceover in the target language.

Have other students comment on whether they

would purchase the product or service based on

each ad and ask them to vote on a winner by

posting a comment about their top choice.

Tally the results. Post the winning ad on YouTube

and watch it go viral!

example from VoiceThread

http://voicethread.com/#q+student+adver

tisement.b1532118.i8077006

Collecting statistics

Create a voicethread that poses a question (what

do you usually eat for breakfast, where do you

live, what is your favorite film genre, etc.).

Have students post personal responses.

After everybody is done, have them go back and

post another comment, analyzing the resulting

statistics and expressing their opinion about the

findings (f.e. what film genres seem to be the most

popular, does that same statistic hold true in the

society at large, why these genres are popular,

etc.).

http://voicethread.com/#q+statistics.b122

0318.i6582861

I Spy!

Pick a theme and upload a busy picture

containing many objects that fit this theme (foods,

clothing items, musical instruments, etc.).

Make a voiceover in which you describe in a

roundabout way a few of these objects.

Have students find the objects and describe their

location with respect to the other objects in the

picture.

http://ed.voicethread.com/about/library/2

nd_graders_play_ISpy/

Comparison

Upload a couple of humorous pictures that could

be compared easily (open fridges belonging to two

different people, two cars of different models,

etc.). Ask students to compare them according to

the values that are important to them and explain

which one they would pick.

example from a Spanish web page

http://gillspanish.ed.voicethread.com/#q.

b175197.i933251

Opinion

Upload a video in which a native speaker of the

language expresses an opinion about something.

Ask students to comment on whether they agree

or disagree with the speaker and why.

Variation: upload a picture that is emblematic of

a certain phenomenon and ask students to express

their opinion about it.

example from a blog

http://blogs.ukoln.ac.uk/cultural-

heritage/category/guest-blog/page/2/

example from VoiceThread’s site

http://voicethread.com/?#q.b62276.i3224

Choices

Upload pictures of objects/places and ask students

to select those that are relevant for their purpose.

For example, on a picture of different foods, ask

them to pick a few for a recipe they want to make

and explain how to make a dish out of them. Or

pick among the possible things to take along on a

honeymoon and explain why they’d want to take

these particular things.

http://voicethread.com/#q+favorite+objec

ts.b1489180.i7847150

Cooking

Have students select a food they would like to

make that’s popular in the target language

country. Ask them to document the process by

taking pictures. They would then upload their

slide show into VoiceThread and narrate the

cooking process to create a digital recipe.

example from a weblog

http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2007/12

/31/sausage-balls-the-culinary-delight-of-

the-holiday-season/

Vocabulary review

Upload a slide show of pictures that correspond to

vocabulary items from a given category. Make a

voiceover, pronouncing every word in the target

language and asking a few questions at the end

that would prompt students to incorporate some

of the new words into their answers.

Ask students to listen to all the vocabulary items

and then post a short comment answering the

questions.

example from a blog

http://gr7cngsc131.edublogs.org/2012/01/

13/ecology-vocabulary-voicethread/

Cartoon caption contest

Upload a wordless cartoon that could be open to

multiple interpretations.

Ask students to post humorous captions to the

cartoon in the target language.

http://voicethread.com/#q+russia+voiceth

read.b50850.i265905

Tell the story from different

points of view

Upload a slideshow of images that tell a story. Ask

students to narrate the story from the point of

view of different characters.

http://voicethread.com/#q+point+of+view

.b20768.i117909

Yet another detail

Upload a busy picture. Accompany it with a short

narration in the target language of what you see in

the picture.

Have each student post a description of a new

detail in the picture that hasn’t been noticed by

anyone else.

http://voicethread.com/#q+picture+detail

s.b324361.i1751304

Grammar tutorial

Outsource grammar explanations to home study.

Pick any grammar point and make a tutorial

about it, trying to use as many catchy visual and

oral mnemonic devices as you can.

Ask each student to post an oral or a written

comment with their own example illustrating the

grammar point.

http://voicethread.com/#q+spanish+gram

mar.b556342.i2973673

http://voicethread.com/#q+song.b338440.

i1792593

Cultural differences

Post a picture/a short video of a gauche response

to a culturally relevant situation. Ask each student

to talk about one more cultural difference

between her/his culture and the target language

culture.

http://voicethread.com/#q+create+an+ad.

b485664.i2586331

What would you do?

Upload a picture/short video of a

morally/culturally ambiguous situation. Ask

students to imagine themselves in the shoes of the

protagonists and comment about what they would

do in the circumstances.

http://voicethread.com/#q+what+would+

you+do.b119674.i617902

Current events

Upload a short YouTube video that recently went

viral in the target language country and ask

students to comment on the current

events/political situation that prompted it.

http://voicethread.com/#q+election.b1700

23.i906226

Regional dialects (advanced)

Upload a short video where a native speaker has a

distinct regional accent and ask students to

research accents in the target language online and

then mark the region where this accent is

prevalent on the map on the last slide and explain

their choice.

http://voicethread.com/#q+accent.b72378

http://voicethread.com/#q+accent.b13943

36.i7386244

Ask students to upload/create a slide show for a

song of their choice. Have students record their

own vocal performance of the song to accompany

their slide show.

After all clips are posted, ask students to pick top

three songs they liked and leave comments on

what they found most appealing. Tally the results

and give fun prizes to the winners!

example from a blog

http://themediaspot.org/blog/gss_summer

_productions_music_video_movie_trailer

s_and_voicethread

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