Voki is an easy to use web 2.0 tool that allows you to
create animated avatars. What is an avatar – in this case it is a talking
character. Students can create an avatar on any topic within in any content
area. There is no limit to how a Voki can be used with integrating technology
into the lessons. For teachers, you can become creative and immediately engage
your students by creating a Voki to introduce an assignment or a unit. Your
imagination is the only limit with creating a Voki.
Setting up a Voki account is free. But this is only for one account. You can have your students individually create a sign in account. Be aware that they have to accept the account through their email, so if they do not have access to their email make sure you do this prior to the lesson. Or they can use one account under the teacher’s name. There is an educational version (Voki Classroom) that required a fee. With this version you can access and monitor the students work. I had the students open their own accounts and did not find it necessary to monitor their accounts. The students had to post their final products on our class blog where the class had to evaluate their work. Due to this I did not find it necessary to pay for an account. Also, the students now have their accounts so they can create a Voki for other courses. Spread the technology use.
With creating a Voki, students can work independently, with
a partner, and/or in small groups. The creator of a Voki is allowed to pick their
character, background, voice and some features with each character. What a Voki
says can be typed in or recorded in through a microphone or called in through a
phone. A Voki cannot be used for a whole presentation but for brief statements,
this could aid those students who have a difficult time speaking in front of
the class. And may ease them into a comfortable place where they could speak.
Once their classmates can hear what they have to say, there may be a sense of
support that could bring a comfort level to that shy speaker. The Voki sites provides lesson plans for a variety of subject areas.
This blog post is very simplistic as compared to my other
posts. This is because Vokis are a very simple web 2.0 tool to use. There is
not too much to it but the results are so creative, appealing, and engaging for
students learning. Use a Voki once and you will be trying to figure out what
other lesson you can incorporate it into.
What do you think about a Voki? How can you see using it in your classroom? How would you use it for your teaching? Do you see any drawbacks from using a Voki? What are they?
"I am house trained!" I love this avatar. I like the idea of using Vokis to enhance some literacy skills. I am thinking about doing a project with the kids in my literacy groups in Bloomfield. They are K-3, so I think using a character like a dog will really spark an interest. Since I am doing this literacy component in an after-school program, they are not always eager to write responses to some of the text and topics we cover, but I think a Voki project may engage them without them seeing it as a a writing assignment.
ReplyDeleteVoki's are really cute! As we discussed in class, it is interesting to hear how the correct spelling of a word can sometimes be mispronounced in a voki (for example 'reason') It is cool that the voki website has lesson plans!
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