Do You Voki?

Voki Avatars

1. What is it? Through Voki, a Web 2.0 tool, teachers and students can create customizable avatars for various purposes, such as presenting biographical information, expressing an opinion, reading a poem, or simply using it to check writing, spelling, and punctuation.

2. Look. Let’s look at my instructional technology link for more information:

http://tinyurl.com/arux56t

3. Create account. Go to http://voki.com and create a free account. Having an account will allow you to store your vokis. (Note: Voki in the Classroom is NOT free)

4. Create Voki Character. a. Click on CREATE. b. Customize Your Character i. Head ii. Clothing iii. Bling c. Make modifications to COLOR; TWEAK features as desired. d. DONE

Web 2.0 – Voki Training

C. Valastro

January 31, 2013

5. Select Voki Background. a. Select from choices. b. Upload your own.

6. Select Voki Player. a. Choose theme/color.

7. Give It a Voice. a. Prepare your SCRIPT beforehand. b. Choose voice method: i. Voice via phone ii. Voice via text (type it in) iii. Voice via microphone iv. Voice via uploading a file

8. Voice Via Phone. a. Have script ready! b. Call 631.517.5736 to reach Voki Audio Recording Service c. Passcode will be provided onscreen (Ex. 6525-4815) d. Complete process by reviewing recording, saving it, or deleting and rerecording. e. Back online, click DONE.

9. Voice Via Text. a. Again, have script ready! b. Type your text into entry area. c. Select Accent/Language; Voice. d. Click on arrow to play and review. e. Correct typing as needed. f. DONE.

Web 2.0 – Voki Training

C. Valastro

January 31, 2013

10. Publish. a. Click on Publish. b. Provide Title c. Save d. Acquire code. i. Link ii. Embed e. Add to you site. f. Send to a friend.

11. Miscellaneous. a. If you are putting your avatar on your SchoolCenter web page, you may want to setup the web page prior and have it opened in another window for ease to copy and paste code when publishing. b. When using SchoolCenter web page, you will have to decide where it is to be located and change editor to HTML so you can copy and paste the code from the Voki site. c. Tweak html code as needed.

12. Brainstorm. a. Unless you choose to purchase Voki in the Classroom, you will have to decide if and how you want to share your students’ avatars. Let’s talk about possible solutions. b. Usage with Bloom’s i. Creating ii. Understanding iii. Analyze iv. Apply Notes: __________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Web 2.0 – Voki Training

C. Valastro

January 31, 2013

Using Voki Avatars in the Classroom Examine the existing curriculum to decide where the use of Voki best fits. Below are some ideas for implementing this tool: 

Students create avatars to read their short poetry.



After researching famous people, students could create avatars that resemble these famous people to present information, such as why they were important in history.



At the beginning of the school year, students could create avatars to resemble themselves as an



introduction to the class.

Students could use Voki avatars to persuade the audience to act, such as purchasing a product or voting for a candidate.

Familiarize yourself with Voki before introducing it to your students. Click on “Create” on the Voki homepage to find the steps for creating a Voki.

Create a step-by-step tutorial for your students or use one such as How to Make a Voki.



Determine if students will use the type to text option or record their own voices. Check for



working recording equipment if that is chosen.

Create a sample Voki that serves the same purpose as your students’ Vokis.

After students view the sample, discuss the necessity of a script and assign one for the students to do.

Refer the students to the print out Voki Instructions for support in creating.

Develop a rubric for evaluating the assignment, such as the Voki Dialect Rubric.

Allow time for students to evaluate a partner’s Voki before the entire class views the creations. Additionally, allow students to revise after this evaluation.

Allow time for students to share their creations with the class.

Decide how you will share your students’ avatars with others. You could post all to your teacher web site or have a competition and post the top three from each class or however you decide.

If you are familiar with wikis, you could also establish a class wiki--at Wikispaces, for example-where you can link the students’ Voki avatars so that all in the learning community can view the students’ projects.

NOTE: Some schools filter Voki, so speak with your technology coordinator ahead of time for approval.

Technology Training – Voki

C. Valastro

January 31, 2013

Voki Dialect Rubric Activity

3

2

1

0

Voki Script

Voki script is complete with all requirements.

Voki script is complete, but a few requirements are missing.

Voki script has several missing requirements.

Voki script is incomplete or was never turned in.

Voki Character

Voki character is complete with a customized background, clothing accessories, and a name and uses a high level of creativity.

Voki character is mostly complete, but shows some lack of creativity.

Voki character is mostly complete, but lacks creativity.

Voki character is incomplete or was not created. Little or no creativity is shown.

Sound/Voice Quality

Student voice was recorded successfully and has excellent sound quality.

Student voice was recorded successfully, but sound quality may be lacking some clarity.

Student voice was recorded, but is very difficult to understand.

Student voice was not recorded.

Dialect

The avatar dialogue has 5 or more examples of dialect.

The avatar dialogue has 4 examples of dialect.

The avatar dialogue has 2 to 3 examples of dialect.

The avatar dialogue has 1 or less examples of dialect.