Voicethread eases the transition to online learning for the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS) faculty and students. In this session, we will discuss how we are leveraging Voicethread for interactivity and assessment in health science courses that are newly converted to the online format.
ACPHS is in progress of moving courses to online and hybrid formats. Traditionally a pharmacy school, ACPHS has expanded to encompass other health sciences and now is hoping to infuse flexibility through online and hybrid offerings. We found that many of our students and faculty are reluctant to embrace online learning. To ease transitioning to online formats, the Center of Innovative Learning (CIL) has been promoting the use of Voicethread to facilitate interactivity in newly converted online courses.
Voicethread was incorporated into several types of courses, such as ethics, clinical-focused courses, and experiential education. Voicethread was used for various applications, including ice breakers, interactive discussions, patient cases, and alternate assessments. In this session, we will share our experience of utilizing Voicethread as a tool to facilitate interactive activities and create a sense of social presence.
Students were surveyed regarding their experiences with using Voicethread in their online courses. Preliminary results indicate that students found Voicethread was easy to use, stimulated interest in course topics, and supported connection to the instructor and classmates. Students feel that Voicethread is a useful tool for engaging in online classes due to providing flexibility through the asynchronous nature, while creating a more personal learning environment using multimedia responses.
In this discovery session, we will engage with the audience through discussing the following questions:
- What is your experience with Voicethread?
- What types of activities are successful in Voicethread at your institution?
- How has your institution been able to transition reluctant faculty and students to online and hybrid learning?