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Commenting Tips for Voicethreaders
 The best Voicethreads are truly interactive—with users listening and responding to one another. They are super interesting digital conversations! Highly accomplished Voicethreaders are constantly thinking while interacting with a Voicethread presentation. They come to the conversation with an open mind, willing to reconsider their own positions—and willing to challenge the notions of others.

 Voicethreading requires users to develop the skills that active thinkers bring to any learning experience. Some of the best tips about active thinking have been developed over time by teachers like Kelly Gallagher and Matt Copeland—who have each written books about reading and writing in middle and high schools. They’ve also been developed by an organization called Project CRISS—Creating Independence through Student Owned Strategies.

 The following tips for Voicethreaders are adapted from the collective work of Gallagher, Copeland and Project CRISS:

 To be an active Voicethreader, start by carefully working your way through a presentation. While viewing pictures and listening to the comments that have been added by other users, you should:

 Use the following sentence starters to shape your thoughts and comments while viewing or participating in Voicethread presentations. Comments based on these kinds of statements make Voicethreads interactive and engaging.
 * 1)  **//Gather Facts: //** Jot down things that are interesting and new to you
 * 2)  **//Make Connections: //** Relate and compare things you are viewing and hearing to things that you already know.
 * 3)  **//Ask Questions: //** What about the comments and presentation is confusing to you? What don’t you understand? How will you find the answer? Remember that there will ALWAYS be questions in an active thinker’s mind!
 * 4)  **//Give Opinions //**: Make judgments about what you are viewing and hearing. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Like? Dislike? Do you support or oppose anything that you have heard or seen? Why?


 *  This reminds me of…
 *  This is similar to…
 *  I wonder…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> I realized…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> I noticed…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> You can relate this to…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> I’d like to know…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> I’m surprised that…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> If I were ________, I would ______________
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> If __________ then ___________
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> Although it seems…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> I’m not sure that…

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> While commenting, try to respond directly to other viewers. Begin by quoting some part of the comment that you are responding to help other listeners know what it is that has caught your attention. Then, explain your own thinking in a few short sentences. Elaboration is important when you’re trying to make a point. Finally, finish your comment with a question that other listeners can reply to. Questions help to keep digital conversations going!

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> When responding to another viewer, don’t be afraid to disagree with something that they have said. Challenging the thinking of another viewer will help them to reconsider their own thinking—and will force you to be able to explain yours! Just be sure to disagree agreeably—impolite people are rarely influential.

<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> If your thinking gets challenged by another viewer in a Voicethread, don’t be offended. Listen to your peers, consider their positions and decide whether or not you agree with them. You might discover that they’ve got good ideas you hadn’t thought about. Either way, be sure to respond—let your challengers know how their ideas have influenced you.