This week we are all about new and interesting tools. I examine the Voki in detail in this post. This was an interesting tool. Lets use the PMI format to analyse its usefulness.
P (accentuate the positive -there is a song in there somewhere)
It is an easy tool to use not withstanding some patients is required. Even for the less than computer savvy like myself can get reasonable results. I set up three very short ones in less that 10 minutes. You could use a Voki as a novel way to introduce a lesson. Like my friend Skeletor here.
While there is a pay option. It is free to use this way if you like. It cost me nothing to design this Voki from there many avatars and embed it directly into the site.
It makes the content a bit more interesting or just provides that good mental reset in the middle of the lesson.
Another big plus is that students who won't read a subject matter might engage if it's explained to them in this way. So a student having a problem learning the idea could have you online ready to explain it again, or in a slightly different manner, at a moments notice.
M (the opposite of P)
1--> If you were to do an entire lesson plan or even a chunk with a voki it would be a bit of text and that means time. You will notice that I talked for some, not for the shy, and for the last one I typed and allowed a British guy to talk it out for me (see the links below). You have to spell (no pun intended but that was pretty good) that all out pretty clearly when you type it. Then you have to select the voice that will say it the easiest and most like the way you want it said. Emphasis is easily lost and not easily restored. There is some trial and error involved to make it work for any typed script. Punctuation (not correct English punctuation) is necessary to get the correct stops in the spoken word.
-->By way of contrast, the word spoken into a mic requires only a script I worked out ahead of time. As it records the speaking voice exactly.
2--> Internet policy of the school you are working at will be a problem. To make decent use of this you would have to put your lesson or at least part of it online. Can all your students access your content online? If they can't your students are viewing it in class because there really is nowhere else for them to view it.
3--> Believe it or not everyone is NOT in agreement about your sense of humour. There is not accounting for taste. Some, a minor few, even think humour can be too dry. -->Don't know what I mean you probably have not yet clicked on the below links.
P.S. Don't let the Draco run behavioural management. Just saying.
4--> One big negative that I did not find out until I did way too much work with it, is that you cannot have more than one Voki per page. If you make several (like I did) and try to embed them in the same page (like I did), they all become the same voki. It may be possible to add different Voki to the same page in different posts. I'll try that next time. You can add them like this:
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=11211541&height=267&width=200
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=11211509&height=267&width=200
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=11211694&height=267&width=200
But they take way to long to load this way. If the Voki are not embedded on the page who is going to a second page and then wait for it to load. Only the grader--I hope--you are clicking and waiting right?
Give it a try and consider that these voki's are all really short. Also notice that I spoke into a mic for some but typed the mad scientist (AHH Ha you aren't clicking. If you were you would know who that was.
Oh you did see him...Never mind.)
The typed one was the hardest of the four because the new speaker does not necessarily pause when I do. That means you have to listen to it and then revise it quite a bit until the sound desired is achieved. Generous use of commas, to stop the phrasing, and create space in the spoken word is sometimes necessary for clarity.
I (Interesting, or for the brave, Curiouser and Curiouser)
This could be a great tool to use only if you have the time to do it right. It could, very cheaply (time and money wise), be used to break up a program, or in short bits, to break up your larger chunk of lesson plan. Once these individual bits are made, possibly with different characters, you would have a reusable chunk that could be reused several times, or reviewed by students multiple times to help drive the point home when they are not in class.
Science, particularly the low level Science taught in high school, has a lot of route learning in it. There are lots of names that have not changed in 400 years (read Chemistry 101)that students just have to learn. So repeating the lesson, whenever a student wants say at home in his pajamas off a static web page or teacher blog, can help develop that new vocabulary. As such the Voki would be great to use in your wiki space as an introduction to the six hats exercise. Instead of boring text the Voki could explain it in 3 minutes of engaging conversation. In a Blog, well I'm using them now in my blog to get my point across and keep you engaged in my blog so that you might get to the bottom of it.
Now in the case of a static web page they would be very useful. Particularly in this teaching field of student apathy. Anything that will keep them engaged and interested for just a little longer. If the science geek Voki makes them laugh about
Phenoxymethylpenicillin then your students will be more likely to remember that name. Lets face it chemistry can be dull and student engagement is very important. On a static web page they can leave without ever engaging the topic just because it was dull or not interactive enough. The Voki adds that little bit of interaction that can make the difference in a space that is so competitive for the attention of the students.Then there is always those students who could read it in there own space, at there own time, at there own pace and regardless of the interactive student to student wiki or the static web page if someone does not say it in words that student will just not get it because they are not visual learners. They learn best from the spoken word giving your web space that face to face interaction the student might need for that Ahh ha moment.
All in all a good gadget watch the net spaces weather wiki, blog, or static web page for the Voki. It could be very useful to most web spaces. Who knows in a very short time there may be a public outcry to have Voki added to all online spell correct dictionaries. Kind of like there is for the word online now.
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