1. Create speaking avatars and use them as an effective learning tool. http://www.voki.com/

2. What is an avatar? In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two- dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(computing)

3. Here are some examples of avatars:

4. To learn more about Voki, go to the following link and hit “play” on the avatar. http://www.voki.com/

5. What is Voki? Voki is a FREE service that lets you: Create customized avatars. Add voice to your Voki avatars. Post your Voki to any website. Use Voki's many learning resources.

6. Advantages of Voki Motivate students to participate Improve message comprehension Introduce technology in a fun way Utilize Voki as a language tool

7. Getting Started Go to http://www.voki.comhttp://www.voki.com Click on “Register” Fill out a simple one step registration. Click on “Sign Up” Go to your email and open the email: “Welcome to Voki - Activate your Account” Click on the link in the email to activate.

8. Creating Your First Voki Sign into your account. Choose “Create a new Voki” From here, you can customize your avatar. –Character Style: Select a character from one of the many styles: Classic, Animals, Oddballs and more! –Customization: Change the look, clothing and accessories. –Voice: Add your own voice via phone or microphone, use the text to speech option or upload a file. –Background: Choose a background from the library or upload your own.

9. Publish and share your creation Click Publish Choose a title for your creation Once it is saved, you can embed it in a website Or, you can choose to have a URL (web address) that can you can copy and paste and share with others. You can also choose “Send to a friend” to email your Voki

10. Here is the example I created: http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=77 94369&height=267&width=200

11. Things to Remember If you use text-to-speech, you may have to spell things phonetically to get the avatar to say them correctly. You can change the voice that the avatar uses, and this may help with comprehension when using text-to-speech Students have to sign up for their own accounts if you are using the free version.

12. Using Voki in the Classroom There are lots of resources available on the Voki website. Here are a couple links to get you started: http://blog.voki.com/2013/03/15/springless onplans/http://blog.voki.com/2013/03/15/springless onplans/ http://www.voki.com/lesson_plans.php

13. Teacher’s Corner There is also a forum specifically for teachers available at: http://forums.voki.com/forums/list.pagehttp://forums.voki.com/forums/list.page. Here you will find Questions and Answers, The Newbie’s Corner, and suggestions for using Voki in your classroom.

14. Some 5 th Grade Lesson Ideas: Have students create Vokis for the following: Respond to a prompt Explain the meaning of a poem Recording hypothesis before an experiment Bringing history to life Find more at: http://www.voki.com/lesson_plans.php http://www.voki.com/lesson_plans.php

15. Some 6 th Grade Lesson Ideas: Have students create Vokis for the following: Types of government Famous women Citing sources correctly Poetry Earth Day Advertisements Animal Farm Speeches (or another book) Persuasion Papers Personal Introductions Health PSAs Find more at: http://www.voki.com/lesson_plans.phphttp://www.voki.com/lesson_plans.php

16. Want even more out of your Voki account? Try Voki Classroom. Go to https://voki.com/classroom/login_status.php for details.https://voki.com/classroom/login_status.php Manage Students. Assign students to one or more classes and give them each a unique login. There's no need for students to register! Manage Classes & Lessons. Customize the appearance and instructions of each lesson. Students can easily view and complete their Voki assignments from the Student view. Review Vokis. Easily review your students' Voki assignments in one place. Review and approve all student Vokis. Showcase. Each lesson automatically creates its own Web page, where you can showcase your students' work. You can also set the lesson to Private and add password protection. Support. Get unlimited support from a dedicated support team (only available to Voki Classroom users).

17. Cost of Voki Classroom 15 Day FREE Trial 1 Year Subscription $29.95/year($2.50/month) 2 Year Subscription $44.95/2 years ($1.87/month) Multiple Accounts (Save another 10-15%)

18. Advantages of Voki Classroom No advertisements Vokis can last up to 90 seconds Text-to-speech option can have more characters Students don’t have to register More privacy options and control Able to leave feedback for student work Able to put lessons directly on site For more information, there is a video at http://www.voki.com/products.php http://www.voki.com/products.php