VoiceThread: Set up VoiceThread in D2L Brightspace

Article Type: How To

Question:

• How do I add VoiceThread to my D2L Brightspace course?

Answer:

Add VoiceThread to a Course

• In a Content module, select "Add Existing Activities", and then select "VoiceThread" from that menu.

• Create a non-graded VoiceThread activity by selecting Individual VoiceThread, Course View, or VT Home page. Individual VoiceThread, the most common choice, is the equivalent of just sharing your VoiceThread with students to view and comment on.

• Create a graded VoiceThread assignment by selecting Assignment Builder. Options are to require students to comment on, create, or watch a VoiceThread.

Do you need to create an account?

• No, adding a VoiceThread to your course using the instructions above will create your account if you don’t have one. Metropolitan State University’s VoiceThread license provides an account for all student and employees. This account is integrated with our instance of D2L Brightspace. Your students won’t need to create an account either. Merely opening your VoiceThread content topic creates their accounts. If you or they have an existing account using your Metro State email address, VoiceThread will ask to link them. To avoid this, change the email for the personal account before opening a VoiceThread topic in D2L.

Troubleshooting

• If you click on the newly created topic and see only a black screen, follow these instructions to troubleshoot:

VoiceThread: Enabling Cookies and Local Storage for VoiceThread in D2L  

• If students report that when they try to open a VoiceThread they are prompted to sign in to D2L but doing so does not let them open the VoiceThread, it is likely that the VoiceThread has been shared using a link instead of following the instructions above. This can be confusing because the link might work for some students and not for others depending on whether they have opened other properly added VoiceThread content. The solution is to always use the method above to add VoiceThread content and not to use sharing links.

Learning More

• Introduction to VoiceThread for MetroState webinar, recorded November 27, 2018
• Basic VoiceThreading tutorials
• VoiceThread teaching and learning library
• VoiceThread Workshops
• VoiceThread blog