Linda G.

Williams, MS, RN

Associate Lecture

Using Vokis in Online Teaching

What is a Voki?
A Voki is a talking voice character, a computer-generated version of oneself. The more generic term for a Voki is a speaking avatar, a digital representation of a person or being. Latin: Vox (voice) + Loki (prankster character in Norse Mythology) = Voki Offered free by the Oddcast Company; business company version is Sitepal Educators are discovering some of the unique roles these speaking avatars can play in education particularly in the online classroom. There are endless uses in the classroom; any subject, any grade A Voki can live on your blog or social network profile and will soon be integrated in a variety of instant messaging platforms; it will also be downloadable on most video supported phones

Benefits of Using a Voki

To provide a face to the teacher and a face to the student To motivate children and adults to get involved in active learning (participate) To reach more types of learners (audio/visual) To provide a human element to an online classroom, website or blog To help engage students in learning To help get shy students involved To introduce technology in a fun way To improve message comprehension Allows students to maintain online anonymity or privacy Students appreciate the safe and innovative platform for classroom presentations An easy to use, yet creative teaching method (instead of video-taping or vodcasting) Can be used by students too, individually or in groups as part of a learning activity Can facilitate teacher/student interactions Linking a Voki to what the students are learning at any given time increases the chance that students will have meaningful experiences that can generate discussions and reach learning outcomes Research Students paid attention to the avatar character and did what the character said when the character followed the students through the course. Ways to Use a Voki in the Classroom To express yourself through a talking character To provide brief introductions to the course or a unit or to course materials To wrap up a unit or end a unit or course To create an teacher profile To read the instructions for an assignment To create examples of speaking in foreign languages To re-create historical actors or unique characters or other figures

Linda G. Williams, MS, RN

Associate Lecture
Students can create a Voki with their similar looks or personalities Students can record messages to share with classmates Students can role play or reenact famous speeches To share comments with students in other countries Students can exchange a Voki with their friends (ePals) To use as an effective language tool: ESL students can use a Voki to practice and listen to their speech, to practice reading and pronunciation Students can create a Voki character from a story, add a setting and give it speech Several Voki characters can be created and they can each have a role within the course

Sources: Cohen A. November 2007. Avatars and Education. Classrooms without Walls. Otway, H. January 2008. Classroom 2.0 Discussion Summary CITE Conference, April 2011. Getting Started
1) Go to www.voki.com

You can practice at the website without creating an account You can get free lesson plans and share your lesson plans You can choose various specific characters from various categories You can customize any Voki in several ways You can add your own voice via microphone, upload or phone and play it back You can use the voice option and enter text, then listen to the voice that is created You can publish your Voki using its unique URL link or you can use the embed code With an account your Voki is saved under your account for continual access You can embed your Voki on your own site, in an email, or a course blog At the website there is a Voki for Education section with a Lesson Plans database and a Teachers Corner forum A similar program is called GoAnimator (you can make movies)

2) Log in or Register (create an account) on the top right hand side 3) Click on Create a NEW Voki in the center of the page (you will see saved files in the space below) 4) Start customizing your Voki (physical looks, background, voice, player themes) 5) Click on DONE after you are done with each customizing feature 6) Record voice last; Click on RECORD, then STOP, then hear automatic playback 7) Click on SAVE and name your Voki, then END, and then PUBLISH and name your Voki 8) You can send your Voki via email to a friend; you can copy the embed code and go directly to the location you want to place it and embed it; you can post your Voki to any blog, website or profile