Vokis in the Classroom

Go to http://www.voki.com/ to create animated avatars with your students! They can choose the character, type or record their message, and even upload their own background image.
The voki website has recently added a special section just for Vokis in Education that contains lesson plans on ways to use vokis in your classroom. Create a class account so you and your students can save and share your creations with each other. This could be a great way for your students to create, interact, and review their curriculum content!

Wimp Yourself!

Yes, I agree, I'm a little AVATAR crazy these days! But seriously, what's more fun that creating a digital image of you, a friend, an historical character, or in this case, a WIMPY book character? If you've read any of Jeff Kinney's books from the series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, you may know what I'm referring to. Find out more about Jeff's books by visiting the official Diary of a Wimpy Kid website. What I didn't realize is that the books actually started out online at FunBrain in 2004. You can read the online version here. The books are written in diary format, similar to blog posts. If your students enjoy reading about the wacky adventures of Greg in either the online or book version, they may enjoy creating their own Wimpy Character here! And, yes, that is my Wimpy Self!

AVATARS!

When I heard that my second grade students were studying Famous Americans, I immediately thought of a tip that I had read on Tammy Worcester's Blog, "Tammy's Technology Tips for Teachers". In Tip 74, she shows how to use the avatar creater from the website My Avatar Editor and some clever ways to use the avatars in the classroom.

Each of my second graders created a Famous American Avatar using My Avatar Editor and saved them in power point along with a background image that suited their American; baseball field for Jackie Robinson, log cabin for Abraham Lincoln, etc. Then they recorded themselves in the first person speaking about why they are considered to be a Famous American and their contributions they made to society. After compiling all of the students' slides into one power point presentation, the teacher showed it to the class as a review before their test. The students enjoyed seeing all the different avatars and hearing themselves and their classmates speaking about their Famous American. I can't wait to see how they did on the test.....bet they aced it!