Speak Like a Digital Native
According to Marc Prensky, Digital Natives have a different way of “speaking”. They want information fast, they prefer graphics before text, and they prefer random access to linear access. Most discussion boards are based on threaded text displayed in a hierarchy. The discussion is quickly diverted from the original poster’s question to the last person’s comment. A few people who are frequent posters can dominate where less frequent posters are left behind in the conversation.
VoiceThread offers a real alternative to traditional discussion boards by doing away with the hierarchy of comments. The original image is in the center of the screen with the original poster’s comment on the top left. New comments appear as small boxes that begin to encircle the center. You can quickly see who has responded and click the responses that interest you, then add your comment.
It will be interesting to see if other systems adopt this style over the hierarchical threads that dominate online conversations today. This provides a more social and customizable experience, because each user can decide which comments to view.
