This article is for instructors who are using VoiceThread to deliver content or create some interaction among students that amy or may not be a graded assignment. 

VoiceThread has recently improved in its integration with D2L, and we are now able to use the "Assignment Builder" tool to generate tasks relating to VoiceThread content consumption or creation that connect to the gradebook for ease of instructor feedback. 

Assignment Type: Watch a VoiceThread (no interaction) 

  • Use the "Individual VoiceThread" option when you set up your link. If you aren't asking students to do anything other than watch it, the best method for tracking their participation is to relate some of your next quiz questions directly to the content of the VoiceThread. 

Assignment Type: Watch a VoiceThread and Leave a Comment (or multiple comments)

  • Use the "Individual VoiceThread" option at set up, and make sure you leave email notifications ON for activity on that Voice thread. Your email will give a summary of the activity (who left comments, etc.) so you can watch and grade accordingly. 
    • Enable threaded commenting in the playback options if you want students to be able to interact with one another's comments on the thread. 
    • To adjust notification settings, you need to be at your VoiceThread Home. Click on the down arrow by your name in the top right corner, and click on My Account. You'll see all your options under the Notifications tab in that menu. 





  • If you want students to comment but you do not want them to see one another's responses immediately, enable comment moderation in the Playback Settings. This prevents students from seeing each other's submissions, and you have the option to release the comments when you're ready. 


Assignment Type: Quiz or Assessment

  • Use the "Individual VoiceThread" option at setup. 
  • Enable comment moderation in playback settings. 
  • Enable "Don't allow commenters to delete their own comments" in playback settings. 
  • Create the question(s) or problem(s) for students to respond to. 
  • Once all students have responded, you have the option to release the comments or not. 

Assignment Type: Student Creation of a VoiceThread

  • Use the "VoiceThread Home" option at setup. 
  • Identify a common TITLE that you want students to use to make finding the VoiceThreads easier when you need to grade. 
  • Remind the students to SHARE the VoiceThread with the class so that you see it for grading. 
  • Enable email notifications for your Groups ("groups" are your courses in VoiceThread), if you want a summary of student activity for tracking purposes. 


Assignment Type: Students Interact with Other Students' Created VoiceThreads

  • Use the "Course" option at setup. 
  • If you've asked the students to follow a naming convention when titling their assignments, they should be able to navigate to another student's work. 


You can see a wide variety of options for using VoiceThread to engage students in your course. If you use these and come up with additional or better recommendations for settings and tracking, please email your discoveries to ctl@greenville.edu.