A New Toy
I discovered a new technology toy this weekend. It's called Voki and it allows you to create an audio message with cool characters. You can select a character and change their hair color, eyes, skin tone and even apply makeup. I found a character I liked and created a perfect image.
The Voki can be used for social networking to talk with your friends. It can be used to send e-mails and post on your blogs. The problem with some technical applications is that they can be so difficult to use. Because so many of these sites are free, they don't come with any tech support in case you get stuck. I am not a tech savvy individual, so I like to keep things simple. It should take only a few steps and be easy to send as an e-mail or embed in one of my courses.
I tested Voki in my course and was amazed by how well it worked. The clarity of the voice was great, and I will be able to use it to post important announcements for students. This avoids typing text into the announcement board, which students don't read. The Voki is entertaining and fun. If you would like to try Voki, go to http://voki.com/. You will be hooked!