Additional VoiceThread Information
Accessibility Options
Gallery View
A new gallery view is replacing the previous “postcard view,” where all slides in a VoiceThread are visible at once. You can still do all the same things, including browse through slides, see who added each one, and add new slides. This update also enables:
- Full screen reader compatibility.
- Ability to jump to any other slide while recording a multi-slide comment.
- Ability to view a slide while keeping the gallery view open.
- Option to add slides of all types, including media sources and URLs.
The new gallery view will be available only in the student assignment submission page and the instructor assignment builder page on July 1, 2022. It will be available outside of formal assignments later this year.
Alt Text
While it has always been possible to describe a VoiceThread slide using text comments and slide titles, VoiceThread now has a true alt text option. When editing a slide, you'll find a new field to add a text description of the image, video, or audio file. Text entered here will be read aloud by a screen reader in VT Universal even though it is not visible on the page.
For more information, view the Adding Alt Text to a Slide help article.
Accessible Documents
When you upload a document file or presentation slide (PowerPoint, Keynote, PDF), the text in those documents is converted to alt text and saved in the new alt text option described above. This means that for the first time ever, all documents you add to VoiceThread are fully accessible!
View thehttps://voicethread.com/howto/file-types-accepted/ help article for more information.
Data Retention Policy
Starting on July 1, 2022, VoiceThread will be implementing the new data clean-up policies. The following policies will apply to users under the UND license:
Account has never been accessed: Will be deleted 1 year after it was created.
Account has been accessed but no content has been created: Will be deleted after 1 year of inactivity. Creating content, viewing content, and commenting are considered activity.
Account owner has created content: Will be deleted after 2 years of inactivity. The owner of the account will be notified by email 30 days in advance so they can take action if they would like. If someone wants to ensure their account is not deleted automatically, all they need to do is sign in at least once per year.
For additional information, please view the VoiceThread Data Retention Policy webpage.