Edutopia published a nice article about VoiceThread in the classroom.  Check it out.

VoiceThread Blog

Many great topics including sample work and research supporting VoiceThread’s use in the classroom can be found on their blog

• VoiceThread Digital Library
  • “The Digital Library is a database of articles about successful VoiceThread projects. Our hope is to create a resource that offers guidance and inspiration for people undertaking new projects. Please contribute a VoiceThread to help the Digital Library grow.”
• VoiceThread Effects On Learning
  • “A total of 101 students were surveyed and 87 responded (an 88% response rate). Out of those who responded, 70% of the students either strongly agreed or agreed that the use of VoiceThread contributed to establishing a sense of community in this class. Community is an important element in fostering a student’s motivation to continue with an online class, as online learners continually struggle with feelings of isolation as they go about their learning experience physically isolated from their classmates and instructor.”
• The Power of the Human Voice
  • “This video from SECC, details an amazing VoiceThread project created by Gail Desler, Halerin Ferrier, and 4th grade students from Prairie Elementary School. Letters from the Internment Camps brings elements of historical research, ethics, art, self-reflection, writing, speaking, and collaboration, all together in a VoiceThread. The result is truly remarkable.”
• The Horizon Report
  • “Traditionally, a learning environment has been a physical space, but the idea of what constitutes a learning environment is changing. The “spaces” where students learn are becoming more community-driven, interdisciplinary, and supported by technologies that engage virtual communication and collaboration. This changing concept of the learning environment has clear implications for schools, where learning is the key focus of the space.”

The struggle within modern society regarding the adoption of new technologies has been framed as a dichotomy between those who oppose its tendency to redefine culture and those who embrace it. However a new paradigm has emerged among the young generation that sees beyond the bipartisan debate, rendering the debate itself irrelevant. This sense of irrelevancy among a whole new generation is mistakenly viewed as disinterest by the two sides of debaters.

Read more: March 8th, Tech & Learning Magazine

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Fewer than 25 percent of educators feel comfortable teaching students how to protect themselves from online predators, cyberbullies and identity thieves, says a new study from the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Educational Technology, Policy Research and Outreach (ET PRO). – By Zach Miners January 2009, District Administration Magazine

How do students learn to be safe online? This is a critical issue for all of us to address. How do we want to prepare our children to be safe online? I did an informal survey in my classes a few weeks ago. I asked students if they had any training on Internet safety, either at school or at home. In one class only two out of thirty individuals raised their hands to confirm some discussion about the topic. This was a typical ratio in all of my classes.  Where are these students learning to be safe?

Children ages 10-14 spend more time on the Internet than watching television, but the report, the 2008 National Cyber Ethics, Cyber Safety, Cyber Security (C3) Baseline Study, found that only a handful of states have education curriculum requirements for teaching children how to protect themselves online. – By Zach Miners January 2009, District Administration Magazine

Teachers and parents have to first teach ourselves about safety and then advocate and support it for our young people. I am convinced that if we understand the issues clearly we will better model the behavior for students.