Meet my Voki


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After creating the ‘Voki’ avatar above, I can see how useful this technology can be for education. I brainstormed some ideas for using Voki in the classroom:

  • At the beginning of the year students could create avatars that tell the class a message about themselves. This message could include their interests, hobbies and information about their family
  • ESL learners can use the speaking avatars to practice and listen to their speech. Vokis may also assist these learners to develop reading, writing and pronunciation skills by typing in messages for the avatars to say
  • Students can create an avatar that resembles a character from a story and create a message that communicates information about the character
  • Vokis can be used as an alternative to videos, which often require more time and equipment

Vokis can be an extremley effective means of communication in early childhood classrooms, particularly for children who may not be able to read yet. Vokis can be used as an alternative to written instructions.

Vokis may also be used on classroom or project websites for younger students. One of the obstacles to creating a website for younger students is having to incorporate large amounts of written information and instructions which are often too advanced for their reading levels. Vokis can make early childhood websites much more effective and 'user-friendly' for young children.

Effective learning resources and supports are key elements of the ICT learning design framework (Oliver, 1999). Vokis are an effective learning resource which can enhance learning experiences and support learning by delivering information through a number of modes to improve comprehension and scaffold learning experiences.

While Vokis can be used to deliver information in an engaging way, this information must be linked to a meaningful learning experience which acknowledges student's individual interests and needs. Kearsly and Schneiderman (1999) suggest that learning experiences must be meaningful. Before using vokis in a learning experience, teachers must carefully consider the purpose of using this technology.


1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Chloe, You make a good point about the way Voki Avatars can be used to support ESL learners. The language/accent feature may also prove useful when aiming to support the needs of your ESL students.

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