Tip of the Week: Get Creative with Voki

Tip of the Week: Get Creative with Voki

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Teacher1s and students use Voki creatively in class. Today, we are compiling a list of fun and creative Voki activities that you can use in class! Check it out:

Voki Book Report

It’s a book report with a twist! Writing a book report can be boring so have your students submit a book report using Voki. They can work on their writing skills AND presentation skills!

Storytelling with Aesop’s Fable

Improve your students’ creative writing skills with this fun activity. Have your students tell their favorite Aesop’s Fable with a Voki. Or, you can have them write their own fable!

News Report with Voki

Get your students involved in class with a news report. Students can create a weekly class news report. Have each student take turns each week to create the news report!

There are a lot of fun and creative activities using Voki. If you have one, feel free to let us know!

Until next time,

Eva D.

The Voki Team

1560505_10152516453053764_8553617582835278394_nBio: Eva is the Community Manager for Voki and is part of the Marketing Team at Oddcast. She enjoys playing the piano and knitting on her free time. (She’s also a Rubik’s cube master!) She loves to hear your feedback and comments for Voki!

Encouraging students to be creative

Encouraging students to be creative

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C1v2-3-300x187Everyone can be creativity, so why limit it in class? Students should be encourage to think outside the box whenever possible and be open to new ideas inside and outside of the classroom. Therefore, educators should encourage them to be more creative. Let’s find out how we can encourage our students to be creative!

Encourage risk-taking.

In order for students to be creative and innovative, risk-taking must be encouraged in class. Teachers must create a safe environment that allows risk-taking. Let your students know that mistakes are acceptable and allow them do redo their work.

Encourage collaboration.

Two heads are better than one.  Allow your students to work together, either in pairs or in groups. This would encourage them to share different ideas and perspectives. Working in pairs or groups can help students develop new approaches to solving problems.

Encourage questioning.

It is important to encourage your students to ask questions. This is how they can learn in class. Give your students opportunities in class to ask questions. Check here for some suggestion form the Voki Team on how to encourage your students to ask more questions.

We would love to know how you encourage your students to be creative in class!

Until next time,

Eva D.

The Voki Team

1560505_10152516453053764_8553617582835278394_nBio: Eva is the Community Manager for Voki and is part of the Marketing Team at Oddcast. She enjoys playing the piano and knitting on her free time. (She’s also a Rubik’s cube master!) She loves to hear your feedback and comments for Voki!

Tips on Teaching Creativity

Tips on Teaching Creativity

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dsc00022Creativity is important in order for a classroom to be successful. Every student has the potential of being creative. It is up to the educator to help them cultivate it. So how can you help them in class? Here are some tips that can help!

1. Think outside the box.

In order to help your students to be creative in class, you have to be creative too. Do not confine yourself to the set standards. Be open to new ideas and try to find ways that can transform some of your lessons. If you run of ideas, connect with other teachers and ask them how they teach their lessons!

2. Encourage your students.

Encourage your students to be creative by setting an example of what creativity is. If you show them, they are sure to follow. Always encourage multiple viewpoints and different ideas. There’s no room for creative thought if there’s always a definitive right and wrong answer!

3. Give feedback.

Giving feedback on your students’ work can help them understand their ideas better. Find out how you can provide students with effective feedback.

Many teachers use Voki inside their classroom to help students be creative. Check out our past posts to see!

What other tips do you have that can help teachers teach creativity in class!

Until next time,

Eva D.

The Voki Team

1560505_10152516453053764_8553617582835278394_nBio: Eva is the Community Manager for Voki and is part of the Marketing Team at Oddcast. She enjoys playing the piano and knitting on her free time. (She’s also a Rubik’s cube master!) She loves to hear your feedback and comments for Voki!

Why is creativity important in school?

Why is creativity important in school?

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Creativity1

The power of creativity is very important in schools. January was designated as International Creativity Month because it is the first month of the year and it provides everyone to take have a fresh start on our creative capabilities. Creativity help improves self-esteem and motivate students. Those who are encouraged to think creatively are more open to new ideas and challenges, can work well with others, better problem solvers, and more interested in discovering new ideas for themselves.

Many educators ask, is creativity something that can be taught, or is it something that you either have or you don’t. How can educators help student foster their creativity while creating lessons based on the Common Core? Educators now know that creativity can be infused into all aspects of education. There are many tools that are available for educators to help encourage students to be creative.

Voki is an educational tool that many educators use in their class and is fun way to share information between students, parents, and educators. Through Voki students create customizable characters for class presentations for various purposes, such as presenting biographical information, expressing an opinion, or reading a poem.

Until Next Time,

Eva D.

The Voki Team

1560505_10152516453053764_8553617582835278394_nBio: Eva is the Community Manager for Voki and is part of the Marketing Team at Oddcast. She enjoys playing the piano and knitting on her free time. (She’s also a Rubik’s cube master!) She loves to hear your feedback and comments for Voki!

 

3 Holiday Activities for Teachers

3 Holiday Activities for Teachers

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holiday-gift_88664923_1500pxYes, ‘tis the season for some good holiday activities in class! You students’ attention is probably on the upcoming holiday break. So try out these fun activities to keep them focused on their school work before the break.

Explore the different December Holidays

Some students may celebrate Christmas; some observe Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Regardless of what they celebrate, it is great to have them be more conscious of the different holidays celebrated in December. Have them complete a Venn diagram to help compare and contrast the different holidays. Have them include how the holiday is celebrated, the foods eaten, and the history of the holiday. Or you can check out these Voki Holiday Lesson Plans for you class!

Charles Dickens Readout loud

Bring some Christmas spirit into class by having your students read A Christmas Carol. Allow your students to pick a role to play and remember to let everyone have a chance of reading it! Make it more fun and share it with their parents by having them record their voice on a Voki!

Create a Holiday-themed Classroom Newsletter

Ask your students questions about what they learned over the year and what are the looking forward to for the upcoming year. Share your students’ research projects in the newsletter. A great research project idea is have research the different holiday traditions! (See first activity). Or you can create fun holiday polls. The idea is easily adaptable to different subjects, like language arts and math.

What holiday activities did you plan this year? Let us know!

Until next time,

Eva D.

The Voki Team

Tips for Teaching Vocabulary

Tips for Teaching Vocabulary

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knowledge-dictionaryRemember those list of vocabulary words that your teacher would give the class every Monday. Then we would have to look up their definitions, write sentences with it, and… a test every Friday. After that, we don’t remember how to use those words or when we can use it.

So let Voki give you some tips on how to help you teach vocabulary and help your students remember them!

Selecting the Best Words

Instead of wasting your time compiling a super long list of vocabulary words that you students should know, have your students read through the first chapter of the text and pick out words that they do not understand. Then have them write down the definition or their “best guess” for the word without a dictionary. Remember to explain to them that this is not a test, but is information to help you, as a teacher, to figure out what they need help with.

Use the Words Everyday

Include those vocabulary words when you are teaching or speaking to a student. Encourage them to use them in class and at home. Also, continue to have weekly vocabulary quizzes so that your student can remember them properly!

Display Them in Class

Create a wall of all the vocabulary words in your classroom. Ask your students to be creative by creating photos of themselves that put the words into action. Or you can just use Voki for a quick Vocabulary Rundown.

Let us know how you teach vocabulary in class!

kUntil next time,

Eva D.

The Voki Team

1560505_10152516453053764_8553617582835278394_nBio: Eva is the Community Manager for Voki and is part of the Marketing Team at Oddcast. She enjoys playing the piano and knitting on her free time. (She’s also a Rubik’s cube master!) She loves to hear your feedback and comments for Voki!

Happy Thanksgiving from Voki!

Happy Thanksgiving from Voki!

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Voki wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you would enjoy your turkey this evening! Here’s a Thanksgiving poem that we know you’ll enjoy:

Thanksgiving Feasting

By Joanna Fuchs

When the Halloween pumpkins are gone,
And the leaves have all fallen to ground,
When the air has turned windy and cold,
Then Thanksgiving will soon be around.

Thoughts of loved ones all feasting together,
Pleasant pictures from past times appear
To dwell in each heart and each mind–
Then Thanksgiving is finally here!

The kitchen has scrumptious aromas,
The dining room looks oh, so fine,
Decorations with pilgrims and turkeys,
And now we are ready to dine!

First the napkins are placed on our laps;
Now the prayer for the meal to be blessed,
Then we stuff the good food in our tummies,
And we hope for it all to digest!

Until next time,

The Voki Team

Voki Guest Blogger: Heather Loomis

Voki Guest Blogger: Heather Loomis

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1Kindergarten has been using the library to research land forms.

Each class researched a different land form.  I love to use KWL Charts with young researchers.  We started with a group brainstorm session listing what we Knew about the land form.  Then we discussed what we Wanted to know.  The students came up with some great questions.

We then researched using websites, library books, and the Pebblego Database, which we found to be very helpful. We met back up for a group discussion about interesting facts we Learned during our research.  We kept track of all of our great facts using a flip chart on the Promethean board.

We used Voki to report on our findings.  After choosing a background and a character head relating to our land form, we had another class discussion about the most important research findings that the students wanted to share.

River Research

Lake Research

Ocean Research

We had fun with this activity, and I was very impressed with the curiosity and enthusiasm for research the Kindergarten students exhibited.  The also loved the Voki program.  It is always a hit!

_________________________________________________

Follow Heather on Twitter: @LoomisLibarian

Visit her blog: http://oldunionlibrary.blogspot.com/ 

Voki Tip of the Week: Adding Voki on Canvas

Voki Tip of the Week: Adding Voki on Canvas

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Many educators asked us if there is a way to add Voki to their Canvas account/assignments to help enhance their students learning experience. Well, we did find a way to do so and it is very easy! Just follow these steps and you will have a Voki added in no time:

1. Go on voki.com

2. Publish your Voki.

3. Select your Voki size.

4. Click to copy your Voki embed code.

Wiki1

 

5. Go into your Canvas account and find your course.

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6. Find your assignment.

2

7. Click HTML Editor.

3

8. Paste Voki Embed code into the editor.

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9. Add “s” after all http.

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10. Save or publish your assignment.

11. Your Voki will be added to your Canvas Assignment!

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Easy right? Have fun and enjoy!

Until next time,

Eva D.

The Voki Team

Students: Ask for Help in Class

Students: Ask for Help in Class

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AskForHelp_Logo_2Asking for help can be very hard but it is very important if you want to learn more in class. Knowing how to ask for help is a very important skill to have. You may have a question about last night’s homework or something you want your teacher to clarify in class. Here are some helpful tips on how you can ask for help in class:

  • It is ok to ask for help.

Remember that it is ok to ask for help. You are in class to learn so asking questions can help you learn more.  If you are afraid to ask your teacher to help, try to ask your classmate to help! If you sit back and not ask for help, you are only hurting yourself.

  • Don’t be afraid.

Being afraid to ask for help is a major problem for students. They are afraid that other students would tease them. Never be embarrassed and do not worry about other students judging you. If you have a personal problem, talk to your teacher privately during a break and they will do their best to help you.

 

Voki Tip: If you are afraid to ask your teacher for help during class, send him/her an email afterwards. You can even create a Voki that can help you out!

Until next time,

Eva D.

The Voki Team

1560505_10152516453053764_8553617582835278394_nBio: Eva is the Community Manager for Voki and is part of the Marketing Team at Oddcast. She enjoys playing the piano and knitting on her free time. (She’s also a Rubik’s cube master!) She loves to hear your feedback and comments for Voki!