Hi Shalom,
Regarding Voicethread.com for Judaic studies, I use it to listen to my Gemara students read and explain the Gemara. Many of us may recall the good old days when each student would read a piece of Gemara while the rest of the class sat and listened, or slept. Not much active participation.
Instead, I learn the Gemara with the class involving all of the students in the learning. Then they all get to read the Gemara for me as homework from my voicethread site. As I listen to each student read, I easily assess which ones understand and which ones need more discussion. The nice thing is that they sometimes listen to each other's recordings on voicethread more than they would in class, to make sure that they are doing the assignment correctly. If I see that a student misunderstood the logic of the Gemara, I can remediate (or differentiate) when we break into groups.
To make the project successful, I give the students a rubric of what I am looking for, and involve the class in modeling a proper reading. Then I send them a link to the site. Adding a relevant (or humorous) picture helps too.
A while back, Lookjed had a discussion on the pros and cons teaching Talmud to contemporary students. I find the added technology piece helps boost interest.
All the best,
Rabbi Jeff Holman
