Welcome Karianne Politowski as this week’s guest blogger! 

 At Voki, we love more than anything sharing the authentic ways in which teachers are using Voki to enrich their classrooms. See how her students used Voki! Take it away Karianne! 

Voki is a tool I can use no matter what grade level or subject I am teaching.  My teaching career thus far has been anything but boring. I have rarely taught the same thing two years in a row. Voki is a great tool to use with my students because it is both easy to use and a great way for students to demonstrate learning. This year I used it for the students to describe the differences between pioneer schools and our schools.

http://kidblog.org/WASE3Blue/bd731dec-0cfc-4dc2-ba86-c97772c30bda/pioneer-school-facts-6/

For the first project of the year using Voki, I let the students choose any backgrounds, and characters they want. This way they get a feel for the options that are available. As they get more comfortable, they are asked to use characters and backgrounds that match the content they are sharing.http://kidblog.org/WASE3Blue/eb52c2ab-a709-420e-a2ba-76c2cb70895d/pioneer-school-facts-7/

Another reason I love Voki is because the students can easily embed their projects on their blogs. Then they can get feedback from all over the world on their work. Feedback from authentic audiences motivates students to do their best work. Constructive criticism from outside sources is taken much more seriously than if it just comes from their teacher.  http://kidblog.org/WASE3Blue/9f342e0b-2d7b-4e88-ba3c-3b7cc7afe772/pioneer-facts/

I am trying to incorporate student choice into my classroom as often as I can. Online tools like Voki are a great way for me to do this. I introduce each tool at the beginning of the year. By mid-year, students are allowed to choose which tool they want to use to show me what they have learned.

http://kidblog.org/WASE3Yellow/2540f434-155c-458b-9d09-2499e6c4ca1d/my-pioneer-voki/

http://kidblog.org/WASE3Yellow/8ea0418d-5d8b-486d-b75b-11d97ccd7df0/pioneer-facts/

Thanks, Karianne! 

Karianne is a 3rd grade teacher at Wallenpaupack Area South Elementary School located in the Poconos of Pennsylvania. In her past 6 years here at WASE, she has  taught 3rd, 4th and 6th grades. She has a Masters in Educational Technology!