Thing 12

Here is the widget I added. It is a little interactive monkey.  Lots of fun!  I also was able to add a Voki to my site.  At first I had some problems embedding it, but good ole Mr. Marabeas helped me out.
I loved the Voki idea and did a lot of reading about how Vokis can be used in the classroom. I think it would be great to have one as a part of a blog. Kids are not great at reading directions and just having an avatar that could read the assignment directions for kids would be helpful.  My Voki gives reminders to students to use and be aware of comprehension skills as they read.  I might have them listen to this Voki before reading a non-fiction article, which we regularly do in class.  I give them a comprehension skills sheet to fill out after reading.  This requires students to self-monitor more as they read and think deeper about the text.

I also watched a video where the students completed a writing assignment and then created a Voki avatar that would reread the writing assignment. Kids could listen to their avatar reading their writing assignment and then they could edit their writing based on how the avatar read the writing. What a great way to edit and proofread!

I am part of the Facebook on-line community. I am still not convinced that these relationships allow for the same degree of intimacy as a real conversation does. Maybe kids like these on-line communities because they are not required to reveal as much about themselves as they might be forced to in a real conversation. Facebook allows people to be silent observers if we want without having to reveal anything about ourselves at all. Facebook also allows kids to reveal thingw about themselves that they might not normally reveal face to face.

Facebook is so popular. It's not going anywhere anytime soon!