Voki: Speaking Avatar

Details

Activity Description

Have students introduce themselves to the class by making a personalized avatar with text to speech or with their own voices.

Preparation

• Make sure the Web site is not blocked at your school.
• Practice using the site, making your own voki as an example to show students.

How-To

1. Have your students write a brief paragraph about themselves.
2. Provide feedback for corrections.
3. Have students use the Voki Web site to create their vokis and e-mail to the instructor or post online for sharing.
4. See the Voki directions file (above) for instructions on how to use the site. Note: There are only a few avatars in the free version with limited clothes, bling and backgrounds. Pro accounts start at 39.99 a year. See pricing here.

Teacher Tips

• If using text-to-speech, there is a character limit; use one space after a period. Also, words may need to be typed phonetically to be pronounced correctly.
• Built-in or USB microphones are needed for making a one-minute recording. If recording with microphone, students need to begin speaking immediately or they will receive a message that the microphone is not detected. Recording time is limited to one minute.
• Students can also use telephones to make their recordings.

More Ways

• Use for asynchronous "conversations" and discussions.
• Can also be used for any language skill / practice -- listening, speaking, pronunciation, writing, vocabulary, grammar.
• Students can answer question prompts, use target vocabulary or grammar structures, describe themselves or their clothing, create alter egos, imagine themselves in the future.
• See the Voki Lesson Ideas for more ideas.
• How to: See Voki Support for classroom resources, including how to create and manage student and classroom accounts.

Program Areas

• ESL: English as a Second Language

Levels

• All Levels

Documents

• Voki_Classroom_Getting_Started.pdf - Voki Classroom Getting Started Guide

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