Avatars

[|Voki] ([|voki.com]) This site provides educators with free access to create their own avatar. One can dress, customize facial features, and create a voice for one’s cartoon-like creature, and then share this creature with anyone. The selection of creatures ranges from humanoid, to animal, to imaginary. The avatar comes to one’s email by clicking “ publish”, or one can get a code to re-access one’s avatar the next time. It does not seem to require an account, and advertises as being specifically designed for K-12 educator use. There does not seem to be a cost or limitation to the free version, although this is unclear. There is a “free trial” button, but its not clear what this does. There are no privacy concerns, since one’s avatar would only say what one wanted it to say. Teachers could use the avatar to speak for them, (giving directions, explaining grammar, etc.) or ask students to give a presentation with the avatar. This might appeal to the shy student who does not like to perform. The educational tab provides free lesson plans and other ideas for using the avatar as a teacher.

[|Langwitches] (www.langwitches.org) includes resources specifically for storytelling activities, and the various tools available for publishing a story. Students could use iMovie, for instance, to upload their “stories” to a classroom Wiki. Using a tool like this to write and film a story would be an equally interesting option for students to use to make a presentation. Since different students will be engaged by different types of tools, or come to the task with different social/emotional needs and capacities, I think it would be logical to give students a choice in their presentational methods. The material that they would access to make any of these products will require them to go out into the “community” on the web, or in print media, to find the input for their projects.

You could do a unit on fashion and clothing, and give students a range of choices for a visual/oral presentation. Some students may prefer the old-fashioned hands-on method of scrapbooking and presenting in front of the class, others may want to make a concrete, or a virtual poster, and others could present their fashions with an avatar, or as an iMovie. I hope that giving students creative choices will encourage them to access information from other cultures that is accessible through the internet, and that allowing them to make a choice will encourage them to put effort into the project.


 * Other Avatar Sites**

Make a Free WeeMee (skype.weeworld.com/weemee.aspx) This site provides an alternate format for making avatars using Weeworld.com's "WeeMee" templates. This link directly takes you to the Skype avatar maker, which is easier to navigate and more straightforward than the main weeworld.com site. The final avatar image can be saved at the end of the process, and uploaded to any site.

eLouai's Candybar Doll Maker 3 (elouai.com/doll-makers/new-dollmaker.php) This site provides an alternate format for making avatars using a popular avatar format in Asia, which allows for very elaborate choices of clothing, accessories, facial features and hair, etc. The final avatar image can be saved at the end of the process and may be in the form of an animated GIF image.