Voki - Virtual Talking Avatar

I stumbled across a Voki on Mrs. Yollis' Classroom blog and although I was intrigued by the movement of the character I was on an unrelated mission and I did not give it much thought at that time. It was not until a short time later when I was pondering my next step in blogging that I was reminded of that little animated cat and returned to investigate. I was very surprised to learn that not only could this little orange guy wag his tail but he could also talk! This was definitely something I wanted on my blog.

I discovered a little speech bubble on the top of Mrs. Yollis' Voki which contained not only the word Voki but also a link to the Voki home page . I clicked the bubble and was taken directly to the Voki home page.  Here I found a wealth of information. I immediately learned that Voki was a free service that offered its users an opportunity to create customized avatars with voice options and the ability to publish and share with others. But perhaps the most exciting aspect that I discovered was that Voki was a web tool for education. Who would have thought that little orange cat could be fun and educational too! There was so much to delve into that for the time being I decided to just start with the basics and sign up for a regular Voki account.

Creating my Voki account was easy. After entering the usual required name, email, and password I was off and running.

“Create” is the first page Voki directs its users to.

Here users select a character from a wide range of options and customize it with clothing and accessories.  There is a variety of choice for backgrounds and the user can even select the color of their Voki player.  Users are limited only by their imagination!

Users can choose to select from preprogrammed voices or to record their own.  The text-to-speech option is especially convenient and was the one I chose to use.

Users are then directed to publish their new avatar.  Following the steps provided by the Voki website makes sharing your new creations with the online world slick and easy.

When I selected the character for my avatar it was with this blog in mind. I wanted to choose a figure that reflected a professional tone and if possible could look a little bit like myself. Although she is perhaps a few years younger I am happy with my first attempt at animating myself. It was fun to select an outfit and accessories. The background options were somewhat limited and I ended up settling for lockers instead of a library setting, however, I have since learned I could have uploaded a picture of my school library. The computer I used did not have a microphone so as I previously mentioned I used the text-to-speech feature. The hardest part of the whole process was choosing the message that my avatar would share.

I embedded my Voki in the top left corner of my blog.

Voki for Education

Voki Classroom is a classroom management system that is provided by Voki for a nominal annual fee of $29.95. It is a safe, confidential way for students to interact online with their real identities hidden behind an avatar. Voki boasts that this system will allow educators to manage multiple classroom and student accounts, have access to lesson plans which may be customized to suit the needs of students, as well as, unlimited support from knowledgeable staff (Voki 2011).

Voki classroom provides educators with a human element to online learning. It allows teachers and students to express themselves using a talking avatar and may potentially have a huge impact on learner motivation (Baylor 2011). Research indicates that avatar use provides numerous potential benefits including increased student engagement and opportunities for quality interaction among online participants (Blake et al 2010). Using Voki can generate discussion and help reach learning outcomes.

 

According to Jose Picardo, (2009)Voki possess many benefits:

·         It can be accessed at both home and at school;

·         It necessitates computer-pupil interaction, which is a motivating factor;

·         It enables the pupils to be creators of something unique, of which they have ownership;

·         It facilitates the transition from teacher-centered, class based learning, to one in which    the pupil begins to acquire individual responsibility;

·          It makes it possible for the quieter pupils to make their presence felt and be heard; and

·         It allows the pupils to role play and hide behind a mask (an avatar), creating a distancing effect which appeals to the more reluctant speaker.

 Like its counter part Voki, Voki Classroom offers its users the same easy sign up steps. Once a teacher has set up an account students are assigned a login and then they have the ability to create and customize their own avatars using the standard point and click method.

This unique tool enables educators to use avatars in the classroom in many ways.  Here are just a few of my favorites:

·         Media Reports

·         Classroom Blog

·         Book Talks

·         Second Language Classes

·         Introduction to a Lesson

·         Bringing Historical Figures to Life 

 

But don’t just take my word for it, see and hear what students and educators that are using Voki have to say about it…

Readings:
More than just knowing stuff!
Technology and Education Box of Tricks
10 Amazing Ways Avatars Are Being Used In Education
Baylor, A. (2011). The design of motivational agents and avatars. Educational Technology Research & Development, 59(2), 291
Blake, A. M., & Moseley, J. L. (2010). The Emerging Technology of Avatars: Some Educational Considerations. Educational Technology, 50(2), 13-20

Bistrips

OK, so I won't quit my day job, but I did have fun attempting my first "funny" compliments of Bistrips.

Comics in the Classroom

There are a number of assets for using comics as a learning tool in education. Gene Yang (2003) has identified five strengths: motivating, visual, permanent, intermediary and popular. 

Students engage in reading and writing comics because of their high interest.  Comics are fun. They have the potential to help readers grow their imagination and creativity.

Reluctant readers may use visual clues coupled with brief text passages to advance their reading and writing skills.

The visual permanency of a comic strip allows students to dictate their viewing time, unlike a film or animation which is gone in a flash. 

Try using comics to engage students in higher level thinking, use them as an intermediate step to more challenging concepts.

Have you been to the movies lately?  Well, if you have, you may have run across some familiar characters battling for justice on the big screen.  The likes of Batman, Spiderman and even Captain America have all been brought to life courtesy of Hollywood.  This popularity of comic book heroes is huge and educators can tap into this popular culture, bridging the gap between students’ lives in and out of the classroom.

Free, online comic book creators are a wonderful tool for teachers to consider when looking at using comics in the classroom. 

Jonathan Wylie (Bright Hub) states his top 5 favorite ideas for using comics in the classroom:

1. Convert the Classics: Shakespeare didn't have the luxury of using comic books, but you do! Try scenes from Hamlet, or Romeo and Juliet, as comics. Challenge your students to interpret the written work in pictorial form and be prepared to be amazed with what they come up with.
2. Instruction Manuals: Have your students create visual 'how to' guides with their comic books. It would be a great sequencing activity. Have the students write the directions as part of a structured writing process first, or jump straight into your comic explanation. Your comic characters could explain anything from how to look after a pet, to inherited genetic features. Your options here are almost limitless.
3. Personal Narratives: Using comic books in the classroom for personal narratives is a great way to for students to relive that summer vacation, or even describe their daily routines.
4. Interviews: Use your comic book creator to create interview scenarios. Students can mimic a job interview, an historical event, or interview their favorite celebrity, (dead or alive).
5. Study Guides: Have your students study for a test by animating all the key learning points. The comic strips could include two students studying for a test, or chart the adventures of a hero on a quest that needs test questions solved in order to advance towards his prize.

Bitstrips is one such site that would be ideal to use when introducing your students to online comic creations.

Readings:
Bright Hub
Strengths in Education
       Parsons, J., & Smith, K. (1993) Using Comic Books to Teach.
     Zimmerman, B. (2008). Creating Comics Fosters Reading, Writing, and creativity. Education Digest, 74(4), 55-57

A Bit about Bitstrips

Exasperating VoiceThread

Well perhaps I shouldn’t have left VoiceThread until the end of my blogging adventure but every time I looked at the site it appeared to be a little more complicated than other sites I had been playing with. For that reason, coupled with the fact that I couldn’t think of an interesting idea, I kept putting off making a VoiceThread.  With a little less then a week left the pressure was on and I knew crunch time had come (a little pressure is always good for motivation!).  Inspired by a colleagues’ VoiceThread theme I decided to do a Welcome to our School VoiceThread for incoming grade sevens. Simple enough, right? That is what I thought until I sat down last night…

I had taken pictures throughout the school day of various sights around the school.  At home I uploaded the pictures to my computer and set about logging into VoiceThread.  Once on the VoiceThread site I selected Create  and then Upload which provided me with the following options: My Computer, Media Sources, URL and My Webcam. I selected My Computer to upload the pictures and figured I was on a role and would be complete by supper time! Here though is where my troubles began; I made the mistake of selecting 14 pictures to be uploaded.  The site reassured me that this process would only be 7 -9 minutes.  How wrong they were.  Hours later I had managed to upload pictures one at a time, add a title to each frame, and add a comment to the first frame.  Very frustrated and a quite tired I went to bed with the hopes that a new day would bring more head way with this Web tool.

VoiceThread Revisited

After a good nights rest I took another crack at VoiceThread.   This time I decided to see what VoiceThread had to offer as an educational tool.

For educators VoiceThread offers a Web based tool that provides a facilitation platform, Ed. VoiceThread.com.  Teachers are able to create interactive slide shows that engage and sustain the attention of individual learners.  They can use this flexible tool in a whole class setting or for individual use.   The very nature of VoiceThread encourages active participation which strengthens student learning and motivation.   This Web tool may be used cross curricular to help meet the needs of all learners.

A VoiceThread Classroom account has a nominal yearly fee, approximately $60.  This price includes a teacher account with the ability to add up to 100 students as well as unlimited VoiceThreads.  Teachers have complete access to student accounts and can moderate comments before they are posted.  VoiceThread can serve as a conversation archive, a digital album that houses ongoing dialogue. VoiceThread extends the walls of the classroom.

Educators may also choose to use VoiceThread as a professional development tool.  Imagine the possibilities of opening an ongoing professional dialogue that will be archived and available for future educators to access.

The Power of Professioanl Conversation 

For students VoiceThread is a forum to share their voices, literally. Students can express their opinions and be heard.  VoiceThread provides students time to compose their thoughts, make meaningful connections, and ask questions. Students can collaborate with one another online and respond directly to others’ comments. VoiceThread is also a means for students to demonstrate their learning, through thoughtful interactive dialogue. Mrs. Mattson's Voicethread is a great example of students working together. 

Check out Ed.VoiceThread for more great ideas.

Readings:
Brunvand, S., & Bryd, S., (2011) Using voicethread to promote learning engagement and
success for all students, Teaching Exceptional Children, 43 (4), 28-37.
B Ferriter. Using voicethread for digital conversations Retrieved from http://digitallyspeaking.pbworks.com/w/page/17791585/Voicethread
J Orlando. (2010, May 12) Using voicethread to build student engagement.