VOKI

Homepage: http://www.voki.com/

Tool Category/ies: Communication   Creativity   Presentation  

License Type:

 

Overall Rating

 

4/5

Description

 

Voki is a free online service that allows users to create interactive avatars. Avatars can be customized to add voice and other features. The service also includes learning resources, materials and lesson plans on Voki are also available for free. For a secured and organized use of Voki in class, "Voki classroom" can be utilized.

Voki Interface

Voki share interface

 

 

1 of 3

Reviews

 

Rating: 4/5

Reviewed by: Karen Schneider on 05/10/2013


Description
Voki is a website to create customized avatars to use in almost any way that you want. You can email your avatar, post it online and add it to other documents and presentations.  You can add a voice (sound) through a variety of methods: microphone, downloading an audio file, via your phone and typing the text in.  It is used as a creative tool to get students involved in subjects and spur their imaginations.  Voki itself is free and can easily be incorporated into the classroom and learning tools.  Voki Classroom is a paid product ($29.95 per year) that gives you the same features as Voki but it also gives you a classroom management system through which you can assign students to classes, manage lessons, customize instruction, and review student work.  The Voki website offers a teachers corner providing tips and to see what others are doing with Voki.  It also has a database where others have posted lesson plans for other to view to get ideas on how to use Voki in the classroom.

Things to know before using Voki
You need to have basic computer skills and internet access and surfing skills.

Resources required for using Voki
A decent computer with a good internet connection and an email account is required. It would be useful to prepare a script for what needs to be conveyed using the avatar voice.

How to use Voki in a teaching environment
I can think of a multitude of ways to use in an educational environment.  For a lesson or subject I was teaching I would assign students to create an avatar video clip summarizing a teaching point from the lectures and classroom sessions.  They would post them to a shared student site so that they could use them to review information.

Advantages of using Voki
Its an easy way to create avatars and short animated clips of information for presentation.  Its free and the clips can be inserted/embedded into other documents or websites.  Its a fun way to get students involved in lessons.

Disadvantages of using Voki
While a variety of characters are available, customization is limited.  Audio time is limited to 60 seconds.  To get more useful utilization as an educational tool, you need to subscribe to Voki Classroom.

 

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