Evoke Change in Teaching and Learning via Voki

(Source: Pixabay)

Often when I wanted to post about what to do before the next class or assign any homework to my students on the Facebook group, I ended up writing really long posts. Obviously, I was aware of the fact that long posts are quite off-putting, but I did not know what to do or how else to make the announcement or instruction concise when I had so much to explain. 

I considered making videos to give the instructions a lot of times, but I never ended up doing that because of two reasons. Firstly, I was too camera shy and secondly, I did not want my students to feel like, "Oh come on! We are not having video lectures now, are we?!" After all, who wants to see their teachers' face and listen to their voice again after a long day at school?

Imagine, if these videos contained a chipmunk speaking in its cute chipmunk-y voice, would it not be fun to watch? Watching videos recorded by the teacher inside and outside the class can be very interesting, if teachers use Voki. Voki can make teaching and learning more comfortable and fun for both the teacher and students.

What is Voki?

Voki is a free online educational software which allows its users to use an avatar to record their videos, prepare presentation slides, create an online classroom and to use it as a social media platform where they can create a network and have fun.

There are plenty of Voki avatars and presentation templates from which the users can choose the ones they like. However, free Voki avatars and presentation templates are limited in number. By upgrading or subscribing to a more advanced subscription plan, users can use all the avatars and templates as well as several other features. Users will have to pay for upgraded subscription plans ranging from £4.99 - £15.99 monthly. They offer yearly plans as well.

What Can be Done via Voki?

Once you get to the website, a computerized avatar and voice will welcome you. You will be offered to have a look at the different functions, namely,  Creator, Presenter, Classroom and Hangouts. 

Creator

Through Creator, you can record videos by creating avatars from the limited options you will get if you haven't subscribed to an advanced plan. You will also be able to record your voice or attach an audio clip which will make the avatar move their lips synchronously. If you want to use a computerized voice instead of your own, you can do that. In that case, you will have to type the words you would like your avatar to say and the computerized voice will read it out coherently. 

Presenter

On Presenter, you can prepare your presentation in the same way as Microsoft PowerPoint. Although not all the features of Microsoft PowerPoint are available here apart from the very basic ones, the website offers you some additional attractive features, such as- you can embed any YouTube Video as well as include your avatar videos on the slides . You can use a number of theme-based backgrounds on your slides that can make your presentation more colourful.

Classroom

Voki Classroom feature is not available for everyone to use, you can get a limited version for free but for availing all its features you will need to upgrade. Voki allows teachers to have a virtual or online classroom where teachers can add their students to more than one lessons. Teachers can also assign tasks, give assignments, provide resources and instructions to their students. Students can submit their assignment online which the teacher can review on Voki at their own convenient time. Also if teachers want, they can either showcase their students' work or set the assignments on private mode through password protection.

Hangout

On Hangout, free Voki users can get access to a limited version while subscribers will get full access to this platform. Hangout provides teachers and students with the opportunity to collaborate and work together. It helps the users to create an engaging, fun and collaborative social network. Users can create Voki Avatar videos and presentations and share with each other and thus learn from each other.

Layout, Navigation and Language

The layout and language of Voki are very user-friendly. All the necessary information appears on the welcome page and a new user does not need to struggle to find out how to sign up. The four principal features of Voki appear on separate tabs on the Home page which is also a convenient feature. To create the avatar or to make presentation slides, users do not need to struggle as the navigation functions are easy to understand and very conveniently placed.

Target Users

(Source: Pixabay)

Voki is available for both teachers and students. Students may not use the Classroom feature without the assistance and guidance from the teacher, but once the teacher has made them a part of the classroom, they can access the instructions and upload their assignments. Students and teachers both can create Voki Avatar videos and presentation slides. Both students and teachers can use the Hangout option and create their own collaborative platforms. Student and teachers together can create a networking platform on Hangout as well.

How Can Voki be Used in Classroom?

Voki can be used in multiple ways in the classroom. Some of these are as following:

Videos for Instructions/Elaborating New Topic

Teachers can create videos through Voki to give instructions to students both inside and outside the class, to provide insight into any topic, to discuss global issues and to familiarize students with a new topic. Using this Avatar video format adds a fun element in the lesson and helps to grab students' attention.

Have a look at a Voki Avatar video I created on deforestation, click on the picture to check it out.

Speaking Activities

Not only teachers, but students can also be assigned a topic to talk about through a Voki Avatar video. It can help a lot with speaking activities. Students are often shy of making mistakes in front of the class during speaking. Being able to speak through an avatar can make them more confident because this allows the learners a partial anonymity which works as a shield from being on stage (Arnold, 2007, p. 472).

Presentation

Similarly, both students and teachers can use the feature "Present" to make presentation slides for the class or any activity. Teachers can assign students with an activity of making presentation slides on Voki and tell them to send the link through an email or to upload it on Voki classroom or to present it in class. Teachers themselves can explain certain topics by using Voki slides. Also, this feature can be used as flipped classroom, as teachers can provide the students with link to a certain presentation and tell them to go through it at home. 

Have a look at the presentation slides that I created on Summary Writing on Voki, click on the pictures to check them out.

        

Limitations

While there are numerous good things about Voki, there are some limitations as well. 

1. The biggest limitation of Voki is that although there is a Voki app which can be used on mobile phones, it cannot be used by teachers teaching in low-resource contexts because Voki videos and presentation slides cannot be downloaded and not every school or student has access to internet connection to avail these resources. A downloaded video, on the other hand, could be passed over through USB sticks or memory cards.
2. Further, Voki is not as advanced as many other educational websites available at present. Therefore, even in resource-rich contexts, creating presentation slides can give users a really hard time since there are no undo buttons. Simple tasks such as selecting a paragraph, copy-pasting, going to the next line by pressing the enter button on keyboard and many other similar activities are extremely difficult to do since the website does not take these commands easily. 
3. Furthermore, using the slideshow presentation option might not work and might make your slides all messed up by displacing texts and pictures. Moreover, many features of the website are not available for free and requires the users to pay to avail them. 

Evoking Change with Voki

Despite the limitations, Voki is a powerful teaching and learning tool that can bring positive changes in the classroom. Especially, the Voki Avatar video feature can work as an effective agent for lowering students' learning related anxiety. It is strongly believed that, learning occurs only when learners are anxiety-free and relaxed (Schinke-Llano & Vicars, 1993, p. 325). 

Therefore, teachers can use Voki both inside and outside classroom for making learning more fun and enjoyable for learners and thus transform the classroom environment positively.

References:  

1. Arnold, N. (2007). Reducing foreign language communication apprehension with computer-mediated communication: A preliminary study. System, 35(4), 469-486. Retrieved March 22, 2019 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0346251X07000711

2. Schinke-Llano, L., & Vicars, R. (1993). The affective filter and negotiated interaction: Do our language activities provide for both?. The Modern Language Journal, 77(3), 325-329. Retrieved March 22, 2019 from https://www.jstor.org/stable/329101?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents