Classroom Collaboration Series: VoiceThread

Looking for a cool way this summer to keep your students engaged with technology? Here's a way you can make a virtual field trip, an online lesson, a display of student work, or a virtual discussion with your class - VoiceThread.
This is, in a nutshell, what you can do with VoiceThread. Add images or pictures (which could be screen shots of math problems worked out in class, pictures from a field trip, student illustrations, you name it) to create a slideshow. Then, for each slide, you as the teacher may choose to add your voice or type descriptions to each of the slides. You can also write on the images as you record your voice to reference points of interest.
Once you complete your VoiceThread, you can have your students find it online. As they view your VoiceThread, they can make comments on each slide! For example, you may want your students to respond to an image about a science experiment to show what they remember, or it could be as simple as having them leave their memories on a picture from a school field trip. They can comment by typing a response or leaving a recorded message. If you have a webcam available, your students can respond using that as well. What happens after your students comment on the VoiceThread is that you create an online conversation. You and the class can go back and view the show together to view each other's feedback - a great way to review information. Your students can go back and view the VoiceThreads on their own as well to reinforce content or take a virtual field trip of sorts over and over again. You can also download the VoiceThread app to your iPad so you students can access it there as well.
This resource is free...to an extent. Creating a VoiceThread Educator account is free, and the app for iPad is a free download as well. You get 250 MB of space (or 50 VoiceThreads) using your account on the computer, and you can make up to five VoiceThreads using the app. Each VoiceThread you create can have up to 50 slides on your free account (which I think is plenty). You can make it work for you as a free resource if you are willing to delete the VoiceThreads that you aren't using so you don't run out of space. And if you really like it, you can consider getting a classroom license so you can go further with this resource.
If you search on VoiceThread, you will find caboodles of examples of how you can use it in your classroom. Take a look and see the possibilities you could use this for in the fall!
https://voicethread.com/
http://voicethread.com/products/k12/educator/
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/voicethread/id465159110?mt=8