Voki in Education

In my school, student achievement is somewhat evaluated based on a students interest level and engagement in the class. For this reason, I chose Voki to focus on for this assignment. I feel Voki will assist teachers increase the interest level as well as enhance student achievement by the encouragement of technology. As an introduction to technology and interesting site, students will be able to utilize it effectively.

In the Voki website, www.voki.com, users can create speaking avatars.  The creator picks from numerous characters, colors, backgrounds, voices, etc. Multiple avatars can be created on the same account. This will keep the students wondering what will come next. Avatars can be edited as well. For example, one avatar can be used for every unit. The teacher may want to change the script of the avatar but leave everything else the same (i.e. the avatar looks).

Voki avatars will help to motivate students to participate. I visualize a class of engaged students (distance or face-to-face) utilizing this educational tool. Instead of the teacher talking everyday and repeating himself/herself, Voki can be used and re-played as many times as the individual student needs. This helps with differentiating instruction according to each student’s ability level. It is an interesting and different tool to use. This will better help students understand what they are learning.

Voki can also be especially helpful to English language learners. This will eliminate the need for students to feel lost or left out due to their language barrier.

Voki is a free tool. However, an enhanced version of Voki can be purchased for teachers to organize each class and register students. The Voki Classroom allows teachers to setup multiple classes, multiple lessons, and multiple students. They also have access to the Teachers Corner for extra help and support. With Voki Classroom, students don’t have to register. Privacy is always an issue, especially in education. Voki Classroom lessons can be set to private. If you don’t have Voki Classroom, there are no privacy settings to keep your information safe.