Voki is a free Web 2.0 tool that allows you to create personalized speaking avatars and use them on your blog, profile, and in email messages.

Voki is a combination of the Latin word “vox” meaning voice and “Loki” the mischievous god of Norse mythology. Now, there is an across the curriculum application! With Voki you create a customizable speaking avatar that accepts text, as well as recordings using your built-in computer microphone and/or audio files. Voki provides several HTML code options for your finished avatar that can be embedded into most wikis or blogs.

Here is a YouTube tutorial video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssGHaNX3O4g and a slideshow from slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/markmodra/voki-activities-presentation

 As stated in The Edublogger, “educators use them to add a human element to their sites or to engage students.” They are also great as attention getters and warm-up/bellringers.

Suggestions for use in ESL classrooms may be found at this link:
http://instructify.com/2009/09/17/voki-trailfire-mashup-special-needs-education/

 So give Voki a whirl and let me know how it goes and how you put it to use in your classroom.

He later discovered that virtually all economic activity was subject to this principle as well. For example, this principle says that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results, 20 percent of your customers will account for 80 percent of your sales, 20 percent of your products or services will account for 80 percent of your profits, 20 percent of your tasks will account for 80 percent of the value of what you do, and so on. This means that if you have a list of ten items to do, two of those items will turn out to be worth five or ten times or more than the other eight items put together.

I wonder…how would this apply to the classroom?

All the favorite grilling foods were there…hamburgers, hot dogs, Texas smoked sausage, snow cones, watermelon, cookies, all the fixin’s.

Well, almost all of the fixin’s.

It is interesting how people react to the work done by others. Some are grateful, peppering their speech with smiles, “Please” and “Thank you.”

Not so for others. Others complain about the heat, (to people working in that heat!). Some complain about the lines. Some complain about having a 30-minute lunch.

And some complain about pickles.

Or the lack of pickles, in this case. Despite all the free food and drinks, and condiments, and extras, one woman noticed a lack of pickles. She was not consoled by pickle relish. She wanted pickles. No free meal or festive atmosphere would deter her determined complaining.

As you prepare your classroom for the approaching school year. As you send out your welcome letters and label books, desks, and supplies, please remember that there will be pickle people.

Pickle people are bitter. They usually give birth to pickle kids. And pickle kids are rarely absent. I guess the pickle doesn’t fall far from the tree! As you encounter pickle people, remember your goal, do not allow the bitterness to infect you. Do not let other people’s caustic comments and attitudes literally put you in a pickle.

You are not bitter. You are better. And your kids and students will be better for being in your class.

The kids need you and the web keeps marching on…not to worry, 4OOPS’ EduTech news Feed has these top stories of interest to educators: 

From Tech Crunch: July 1. You can no longer use a handheld mobile device in California and Washington. The first time fine in California is just $20, but the real deterrent is public opinion.

But, some studies have shown that talking on hands-free devices are just as dangerous as talking on cell phones regularly.

Will people who talk on their cell phones while driving now have to keep a lookout for the police, too, distracting them even more?

From Read/Write/Web: Adobe.  Adobe is has just launched their version of an online office suite available at Acrobat.com, complete with word processor (Buzzword), web conferencing/whiteboard app (ConnectNow), online file sharing (Share), file storage, (My Files), and PDF converter. Adobe has also announced a brand-new version of Adobe Acrobat, Acrobat 9. 

From TechCrunch: Ultralight laptops. The MSI Wind – is a $499,  2.6-pound, 10-inch laptop.  

From Read Write Web: June 5, 2008. About half of all Internet users aged 12 and up have streamed a video file online in the past 30 days.

How-to Resource: How to Write a Rubric 

Technology Rubric Resources:
Landmark Project:
RubiStar
Rubrics for Projects:
PBL Checklists:
Rubric Links:
Teach-nology:

School Counselor Shannon Hutton, warns, “kids often get “antsy” about moving to the next grade.” And it’s no wonder, since 180 school days have just been spent getting used to their current classroom!

“They are leaving the comfort of their familiar classroom, established social group and teacher they’ve not only grown accustomed to, but usually really like. So the idea of moving to a new classroom, with a new teacher and a new set of classmates is often initially unnerving for kids,” says Hutton. 

It may not be possible to get too many specifics about next year so let the Internet help!

Take a minute today and use Google Maps  to find your child’s school for next year. Just enter the address and let Google Maps do the rest. Use the Zoom feature to narrow and widen the scope of the neighborhood. Visit Schoolnotes.com  and enter your child’s school zip code to see if your son or daughter’s teacher has a webpage there.

Does the school website include links to teacher webapges on their home page?  Click over to next year’s teacher and play an Internet version of “I Spy.” (I spy a field trip link! I spy a class pet!) Take a look and navigate around.

Most teacher webpages have a calendar. Scan over to the first few weeks to get a possible idea of what will be covered. Even if you do not yet know your child’s teacher, you can navigate another teacher’s page in the next grade together and get an idea of next year’s curriculum.

Now is also the time to swing by and check out the computer lab at next year’s school or grade. Will Jr. move from a Mac lab to a Windows lab? Will laptop carts replace the traditional lab in the next grade? Will students next year use AlphaSmarts, Neos, or Palm Pilots as a component of their digital backpack? Is there a summer computer camp offered? Having a summer to become used to any new technology will make the transition to the next grade SO much smoother.

If possible, walk the halls of next year today or tomorrow. Many grades are located in different, specific halls. Counselor Hutton advises, “The best way for parents to help transition kids to a new grade is to allow them to get the lay of the land, so to speak, so they don’t fear the unknown. Giving children an opportunity to visit their new classroom and meet their new teacher greatly helps reduce their anxiety about moving to the next grade.”

Consider a pool party, park meeting, or other play date with friends this over the summer. If possible, exchange email with other parents and let your kids email each other via your email address-add a comment occasionally. (Notice the importance of using parent email, for added privacy and protection.)

“The more children know what to expect about the upcoming school year, the more comfortable they will be with the transition to the next grade,” says Hutton. So start planning for a successful future school year today! 

For thoughtful advice, plus innovative summer projects, visit her website, “Believer in Balance”  http://www.sparkplugging.com/believer-in-balance/

Shannon Hutton, M.Ed., M.P.A., currently works as a school counselor and has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Master degrees in School Counseling and Public Administration. She is certified to counsel students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. You can read more about how she balances working and raising kids at Believer in Balance.

I don’t want this said about you.

As I type this, my computer freezes briefly and then mysteriously opens another MSWord window and types the rest of the word I had begun.

I should stop using the computer, right? Open the window of my hotel room and scream the rest of my thoughts to you.

But you wouldn’t hear me.

You wouldn’t hear me without the information pipeline.

And neither will your students.

So, today, please do not be a statistic. Set aside a few minutes. Just a few minutes.

Today, use the information.

Ask one question.

Go to http://www.dnatube.com/ let the Editor’s choice video play. It does not matter which one; all are amazing.  Don’t object because this is “science.” You don’t have to be a “science teacher” you are a “connecting teacher.”

(”But our filter blocks everything,” you say. Click here then and ask the same question…I guarantee this site will not be blocked.)

Ask one question: How does this relate to our study of__________

If students are at computers, have them type their answer,

If they are not, have them write or talk.

And then listen.

Take notes on what they say, make connections to what you are teaching.

Just ask one question.

If you want to ask more questions, click here for Greg Smith’s 3 Classroom Lessons for Using Gas Prices to Teach Math, Writing, Social Studies, and Technology

Please do not tell me you can’t do this because you have no  _____ or ______ or _______.

You can. You will see results with your students.

Trackback here and leave a comment about what you did.

Prove Them Wrong Today

That is where my laptop comes in.

Until recently when right at the end of the beloved classic “Must Love Dogs” (with my fave John Cusack), the laptop, she decides to die.

Battery out! The battery has been losing more and more power but I never thought it would fail me outright.

At this point I must love Best Buy and Agent Nelson (they all use the word “agent” before their surnames…is that cute or what?) Agent Nelson told me that my service plan covers a replacement battery and power cord.

Must love this little known detail of the service plan. Check your service plan today (by “check your plan” I mean go to Best Buy or wherever you purchased your laptop and given them your name and they will do the rest.)

More great tips for extending your laptop’s life may be found in David Culpepper’s post from Daily Tech Bits

1.) Barbara Park wrote the Junie B. Jones children’s book and her birthday is April 21. How many total books has she written?
2.) How many books have you read this year? Have you read more books or webpages? Ask two friends and record their answers.
3.) Think & Answer: “Today will be a success for me if…”
4.) How many years did our Civil War last ?(give the years).
5.) Study these Civil War Graphs. Pick one and write a 1-sentence summary of the data you see. Be sure to compare North and South and write one equation based on the graph you choose.