Avatars that speak messages are not new to the Internet. They have been around for years. However, most companies that provide avatars, such as SitePal, are geared toward providing avatars for businesses and charge for their services.
Oddcast, the company who owns SitePal, has developed Voki which is a site where you can create free avatars to use on your blog, in your social network profile, or just to send messages to people. According to the Voki site information page, the name Voki “is a combination of ‘vox’, which is Latin for voice, and ‘Loki’, which, is a prankster character in Norse Mythology.” At the Voki site, you can custom design your avatar from a variety of available characters such as people, monsters, and animals just to name a few. You can adjust the look and feel of your avatar by changing its characteristics (such as hair, jewelry and clothing). Then you can record a message for your avatar to speak using your own voice or one of several computer generated voices that translate message text to spoken words.
The avatar below is one I created with Voki to welcome you to my blog. Click on the play button and check it out. Notice that Voki supports this service by displaying an advertisement on the bottom of the avatar. Also notice the scary way the avatar's eyes follow your mouse as you move it around your screen!
Get a Voki now!
Voki is free for personal use but is not sanctioned for commercial use. Therefore, it should be fine for educational purposes such as having students integrate Voki characters into a blog. Instructors can also use Voki to communicate with their students and greet them when they visit instructor Web sites. An example of how Vokis are being used in schools can be found in this instructor’s profile on Classroom 2.0.
Creating a Voki makes a good exercise for students. After they create an avatar and post it to their blog, you can lead them into a discussion about how avatars can be used to enhance a business Web site. The SitePal Success Stories page gives plenty of examples of ways that their customers have utilized avatars to communicate and connect with customers.
Related posts: Classroom 2.0
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