iCLUDING tECHNOLOGY

I know I don't have many followers yet, but I wanted to share a new way that I am including technology with students.  Sometimes it is hard to implement technology...I know for a fact that having enough computers has been a great struggle for me!  We have a computer lab, but it is used for classes all day and then the library computers well we'll just say they are ALWAYS booked!!  Anyway I have made due to with my 4 classroom computers and the students are raving about it!!

Honestly technology is my love...I think and reflect on my lessons each week to see how I can involve the students in technology.  We all know that that is as real life as we can get.  Any way I decided I was going to have the students to use Voki.  If you have not heard of it basically it is a free website that allows the students to create talking avatars. 

 I made sure that I had about 4 students who were Voki experts so I didn't have to troubleshoot all by myself and they were on their way.  I put together a guide sheet, directions, and a rubric for expectations and let the students go.  SUCCESS is all I can say.  In a nut shell they were to take their book they had been reading and create a Voki on the main character.  They made the background of the voki look like the setting of the story, the voki itself had to resemble the character as much as possible, and then they had to make the voki tell a summary of the story.

After everyone had completed their Voki we viewed them as a class.  Talk about motivating, exciting, and learning all rolled into one.  We all enjoyed them so much and the students got some ideas for new books they are excited about reading.  My next step is to actually load them to our classroom wiki so that students can view them whenever they like.

If you are interested in more information about this lesson I have the guide and rubric posted on my Teachers Pay Teachers website, just click below.  I promise you will not be disappointed!!

Hint - When typing in voki you can slow down the voice by putting extra spaces between your words! (a lovely student figured that one out!)



~Dana