Voki Avatars

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Well, hopefully this post will be underneath my avatar! Thanks to the people who posted tips for me. I got so excited that I had made an avatar, I emailed it to my sister, boasting on how cool I was (she just looked at me indulgently). Like with the wiki's that we learnt how to create last week, I was very excited to learn how to make an avatar and was excited when I though about how I can use them within a classroom setting. This week I started my prac at a local primary school with Grade 2kids. I spent my 2 days observing and making notes, and one thing I really noticed was how engaged the children became when their lessons involved ICT's. I actually got to have a go of an interactive whiteboard this week - they are amazing! I'm going to spend the Easter break doing a bit of research into them, and how I can use them extensively to teach the class. I also realised that an avatar would look great projected onto the interactive whiteboard! I thought of a few ways that I could use an avatar in a classroom setting:

1. One of the simplest reasons to use it would be to provide a 'hook' to the lesson. They are cool, they are novel, they are different. I, as the teacher, would look highly knowledgeable and informed. I believe it would be a win-win situation.
2. Avatars could help the children with their reading and learning their 'sight words'. An avatar could speak a story and the children could read along with them etc.
3. Avatars could be used at 'work stations' that are set up around the room. An avatar could be programmed to give the students instructions at each station, this way the teacher wouldn't have to be at every station at once, and it would be very helpful in reducing the chance of 'overloading' the students minds before the lesson has even begun.
4. The students could create avatars for projects and presentations. This may be especially beneficial to shy students or those with oral difficulties.
5. Students could use the avatars character to say things and share emotions that they may have difficulty expressing or not have the confidence to express within the classroom.

In Dale's Cone Theory (The Abilene Christian University Adam's Centre for Teaching Excellence, 2000), dramatised experiences are the third from the bottom of the cone (the bottom of the cone is the most effective learning experiences, and the top of the cone is the least effective learning experiences). What is an avatar but a dramatised learning experience! I could say exactly the same thing as my avatar character, but it is not nearly as engaging or unique or exciting as hearing it from a digital character on the interactive whiteboard! Also, in Dimension 1 of 'Dimensions of Learning' (Marzano & Pickering, 1997, p.31), it is recommended that teachers 'use a variety of ways to engage students in classroom tasks'. As expressed in the point forms above, avatars could be used in a variety of ways within the classroom, both by the teacher or the students themselves. Marazano and Pickering state that although it can be challenging for teachers to continually construct lessons that are engaging and interesting, it is imperative in order for students to make the most from their learning. I guess this is why it is so important for teachers to stay up-to-date in technology - to hopefully stay one-step-ahead of our students and keep them engaged within a classroom setting.

Well, that's all from me for now. If you agree, disagree, wannna chew the fat, drop me a line :)

Leesha!

Marzano, R & Pickering, D. (1997). Dimensions of Learning: teacher's manual (2nd ed.). Alexandria : ASCD.

The Abilene Christian University Adam's Centre for Teaching Excellence. (2000). Active learning online. Retrieved April 3, 2010, from http://www.acu.edu/cte/activelearning/whyuseal2.htm