| Rating |   4.33 / 5 |
|---|---|
| Price | Free |
| Link | Voki |
Voki
Description
What is Voki?
Voki is an educational tool that allows users to create their very own talking character. Voki is created by Oddcast and is located in New York City.
Voki characters can be customized to look like historical figures, cartoons, animals, and even yourself! Give your Voki a voice by recording with a microphone, using our dial-in number, or uploading an audio file. Voki characters can be emailed, shared on social media, and embedded on websites!
What’s with the Name?
Voki is a combination of the words “vox” and “Loki”. “Vox” is the Latin term for voice. Loki is a Norse god from Norse mythology. Loki is a trickster who has the ability to change his shape. Fitting name since Voki gives students and teachers the ability to change the character’s appearance and add a voice!
Will Voki always be Free?
Yes, basic Voki will always be free for all educators and students! You can create unlimited Voki characters on your account. Basic Voki users have access to basic Voki characters. Characters with a banner notification are Voki Classroom characters. They are only available to Voki Classroom subscribers.
What is Voki Classroom?
Voki Classroom is a student, class, and lesson management system for Voki. With Voki Classroom, teachers are able to control their students’ privacy settings. Visit our Products page to see the benefits of upgrading to Voki Classroom.
This used to be one of my favorite tools as it quickly allowed students (or faculty) to create something with technology with very little work. It allows for students to create a ‘talking head’ of 60 seconds or less. They can type in when the character says, can phone it in, or can record with their computer microphone. They can select from a variety of characters so it’s an engaging way to build a quick multimedia object for students to introduce themselves, introduce each other, or record a reflection about some topic. The downside to the tool now however is that many of the characters are available at a cost only so the student has to know how to browse and find the free characters. It’s not quite as easy. But still simple to use and still doesn’t require them to setup a username and password if they do not wish to.
Here’s an example: http://www.voki.com/php/viewmessage/?chsm=3e4b3402015e7ae98d6ab73551d8cdd0&mId=1767600
– Melanie
This is another easy to use interactive tool that can be used to build community in the online world. And, it works especially great for students who are second language learners that may have an accent and are a bit subconscious how they annunciate. All they have to do is type what they want to say and the Voki talks for them.
For example: http://www.voki.com/php/viewmessage/?chsm=38dc58cf9a3a4ef8fa7585c13fb59e71&mId=1366644
This is another great communication tool that can be easily adapted and expanded to go beyond the classroom community. I once had an instructor use Voki’s to introduce each of her modules providing the students an overview of what to expect. The students definitely appreciated the Voki updates instead of having to read everything.
Definitely made the scrapbook and is souvenir keeper!
This application is great to put a personal touch on a presentation or a lesson. It’s a great tool for teachers that want to design lessons that will grab the students’ attention. This is the first time I have tried this App as technology can sometimes intimidate me, but I have to say it is so easy to use and the amount of tools on the application is impressive. I can see myself using this application to explain context, add realism to a lesson, or create great attention gainers. The voice and phone app is awesome. If I can use it anyone can!
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=11409167&height=267&width=200
I just tried Voki for the first time during one of the MCC’s CTL’s Camp Innovate sessions. In the short amount of time given, I was able to play with quite a few of the tools and create a very short animation. The app was easy to use and user friendly. I will add this as an additional option for my students to introduce themselves in my canvas courses.
I have provided my creation here for your review.
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=11473798&height=267&width=200