VoiceThread Basic Setup Instruction

Mrooms3

Click here for How to Set up a VoiceThread [Video](https://hml.occc.edu/Player/G715aC66)

VoiceThread is an asynchronous discussion activity which allows students to post images, videos, PowerPoints, and other files as assignment submissions, easily record voice-over comments, and comment on posts made by others. Posts and comments can include videos, audio, images, text and files. Instructors can comment on student submissions to provide feedback, and grades for student submissions can be sent directly to the Moodle gradebook. More information about VoiceThread can be found here: <https://voicethread.com/> To add a VoiceThread activity to your Moodle course, , navigate to your Moodle course and select the topic to which you wish to add the resource. At the bottom of the topic, select **Add an activity or resource**.

Click "Activity or resource".

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Add the VoiceThread Activity.

A grid of Moodle activity and resource icons displaying options such as File, Folder, Forum, Quiz, URL, VoiceThread, Wiki, and others for adding to a course.

Click "Select content".

A Moodle page for creating a new external tool activity, showing the General settings section with fields for selecting content, entering an activity name, and adding an activity description.

The **Create a VoiceThread** activity type requires students create and submit their own VoiceThread. Students can also be required to add comments to their own submission as well. To create this activity type, first add a VoiceThread activity to your course as indicated in the VoiceThread Basics resource. When prompted to choose an activity type, select **Assignment Builder**.

A pop‑up window titled Choose an activity type showing options for Assignment Builder, Individual VoiceThread, Course View, and VT Home Page, with a Continue button at the bottom.

Click "Create".

A pop‑up Assignment Builder window displaying options for Create, Comment, Watch, and Reconnect Previous Assignment, with Back and Continue buttons at the bottom.

Click "Continue".

A pop‑up Assignment Builder window showing options for assignment types, including create, comment, watch, and reconnect a previous assignment, with Back and Continue buttons at the bottom.

The next menu displays several options related to the assignment setup. The Number of comments students must record on their own VoiceThread option allows you to set a required number of comments students must submit on their own submission, and prevent submission until the minimum has been added. The Number of slides required option sets a minimum number of slides students must add before they can submit. More than the minimum can be added. **Select whic comment types will be allowed.** The **Comment Types** option allows you to control the methods that students can use to submit comments on their own VoiceThreads, and others submissions if enabled. - (Options: Microphone, Webcam, Telephone, Upload, and Text)

A pop‑up Assignment Builder window showing participation requirements, including minimum numbers of comments and slides, along with checkboxes for allowed comment types such as microphone, webcam, upload, and text, plus Back and Continue buttons at the bottom.

The next options allow more control. From the VoiceThread site: <https://voicethread.com/howto/setting-up-create-assignment/> **Allow students to add slides to any VoiceThreads for this assignment:** Allow students to add slides to any VoiceThreads submitted by their classmates to this assignment. (This should generally be disabled unless students are creating a Group VoiceThread or collaborative project, for example) **Enable threaded commenting:** Turns on the ability for your participants to start threaded conversations. E**nable comment moderation:** Allows you and the student to preview all comments on this VoiceThread before revealing them to others. You can also choose never to reveal them. Learn more about Comment Moderation. **Don’t allow commenters to delete their own comments:** Anyone who records a comment on a VoiceThread will be unable to delete it once it is saved. This is a powerful tool for assessment because your commenters will not be able to “retry” after they’ve recorded. **Limit length of each comment:** By default, all audio and video comments recorded in VoiceThread can be 60 minutes long. If you’d like to set shorter time limits for your commenters, enter your desired maximum comment length here. **When recording, automatically advance to the next slide after:** Set slides to advance automatically at pre-set intervals as users are recording. In addition, you can check the box for Pecha Kucha or Ignite beneath this option to automatically set the correct restrictions for those presentation types. Learn more about timed presentations here. **Start playing when opened:** The comments on your VoiceThread will begin playing automatically when people first open it. **When final comment on a slide has played, automatically advance to the next slide after \_\_ seconds:** When the VoiceThread is in play mode, it will play through all of the comments on a slide and then move to the next slide automatically. The number of seconds is the “pause” time before the slide advances. **Allow download:** Allow students to download the central media from the VoiceThreads their classmates create. **Allow export:** Allow students to export one another’s VoiceThreads. **Allow students to make a copy:** Allow students to make a copy of one another’s VoiceThreads.

A pop‑up Assignment Builder window displaying comment moderation options, playback settings, and permissions, with Back and Continue buttons at the bottom.

The Playback options allow some control over how and when VoiceThread submissions play when initially opened.

A pop‑up Assignment Builder window showing playback options, recording and slide‑advance settings, and permissions such as download, export, and make a copy, with Back and Continue buttons at the bottom.

Permissions allow control of whether students can download, export, or copy others submissions. These should generally be left uncheck unless required for your assignment. **Student Gallery:** If you want students to view one another’s VoiceThreads after they are submitted, check this box. This will give them a “Student Gallery” button in their interface to see the VoiceThreads their classmates have submitted for this assignment. The Student Gallery option allows students to view other students’ submissions, if enabled. With these set as desired, select Continue at the bottom.

A pop‑up Assignment Builder window showing permissions options, including download, export, and make a copy, plus an option to open a student gallery, with Back and Continue buttons at the bottom.

The Final settings page allows you to set an Assignment name, Assignment instructions, and an example submission’s URL. If you have created an example submission, you can add that VoiceThread’s URL here. A message to be shown to the student after submission can also be set here.

A pop‑up Assignment Builder window with fields for assignment name, assignment instructions, and an example URL, along with Back and Publish buttons at the bottom.

Enter assignment instructions.

A pop‑up Assignment Builder window showing fields for assignment name, assignment instructions, and an example URL, with Back and Publish buttons at the bottom.

A pop‑up Assignment Builder window displaying fields for assignment name, assignment instructions, and an example URL, with Back and Publish buttons at the bottom.

Set the final details for your assignment. A **Start date** (the initial date on which students can submit), **Due Date** (when students should submit by, but submission will not prevent submission), and **Close date** (prevents submission) can be set using the provided options. **Assignment name:** This will appear at the top of the assignment in the student’s view. **Assignment instructions:** These instructions will appear on the right-hand side of the student’s view. Tell them more about what you expect from them here. **Example URL:** If you have created an example you want students to follow or more information about the assignment, enter the link to that page here. It will appear on the right side of the student’s view. **Message shown to student after they submit:** Customize the message students see after they’ve submitted their VoiceThread. A little personalization goes a long way! **Prerequisite:** Students will not be able to start this assignment unless they have already submitted a previous VoiceThread assignment in this course. Check this box and then browse for the assignment(s) you want to require them to complete before beginning this one. **Start date:** Students will not be able to view the assignment until the start date/time. If you want it to be open immediately, leave this blank. **Due date**: This is the date the assignment is due. Students can still submit after the due date, but they will be marked late. **Close date:** Students will not be able to access the assignment at all after this date. If you want the assignment to be open indefinitely, leave this blank.

A pop‑up Assignment Builder window showing options to set start, due, and close dates and times, along with a checkbox for requiring completion of a prior assignment and Back and Publish buttons at the bottom.

**Allow students to resubmit assignment.** Give students the opportunity to try again if they submit the wrong thing or need to make corrections after you give them feedback. **Allow students to view assignment after submitting.** If you don’t want students to be able to see the work they’ve submitted, un-check this box. If you want them to see their work so you can record feedback on it, leave it checked. They will not be able to make any changes to their work even if they can see it. **Assessment:** Choose how you would like to grade this assignment. - Percentage - Complete/Incomplete - Points You can also choose to allow students to resubmit assignments after their initial submission, and allow students to view the assignment after they have submitted. The **Grade type** can be set as well. This may vary depending on your particular course setup, but generally Points should be selected here and the total points possible should be entered in the corresponding field. With everything set as desired, select **Publish**.

A pop‑up Assignment Builder window showing assessment options, a points field set to 100, submission settings, and Back and Publish buttons at the bottom.

Click "Publish". This will populate the Tool URL field in Moodle, and the activity can then be saved.

A pop‑up window titled Assignment Builder showing assessment options, a field for entering points, and submission settings with buttons to go back or publish.

Click "Save and return to course".

A section of a Moodle activity settings page showing expandable menus for Grade, Common module settings, Restrict access, Completion conditions, and Tags, along with buttons to save or cancel.

The activity will appear in the bottom of the Moodle topic in which it was created. Students can click the activity in Moodle to view and submit the assignment. NOTE: The Tool URL option will be populated automatically. Do not edit this URL as doing so will cause the VoiceThread activity to function incorrectly. This will add the VoiceThread activity to your course. To edit the assignment settings (deadlines instructions, etc.) after the assignment has been created, select the activity link in Moodle.

A Moodle course page showing a blank section titled New section with a single activity labeled VoiceThread and options for editing and adding items.

Next, select the lines icon in the upper left, then **Edit Assignment**. That will take you to the second page of the setup process and allow you to edit those settings.

If you have questions or need assistance with the Create a VoiceThread activity in Moodle, please contact the Center for Learning and Teaching at [clt@occc.edu](mailto:clt@occc.edu) or 405-682-7838.