Collaborative Project

Collaborative Project

My group chose to use epub presentation software to create the presentation for our collaborative project.  This tool was really cool and provided many options including video embedding/playback, interactive pictures and links, and the ability to create 3d imaging.  The appearance and effectiveness of these features and their capabilities were the number one comment we received from the groups that viewed our presentation.  This is definitely a tool I would like to use in the future, especially for creating a data base of different presentations for staff and students.  The strengths of this platform include professional appearance and the ability to include many interactive elements in a multimedia format.  The only limitations noted so far is that it takes a long time to download in the school setting and only runs on Apple products.  One excellent suggestion/comment we received was having teachers use this format to create interactive lessons that students could view on demand.  I automatically thought this would be great for the "flipped classroom" model. Based on the comments I received tonight, I plan to start using this presentation media more in my classroom. 

VOKI

VOKI BLOG POST

VOKI is a web 2.0 tool that is designed to engage students through the use of student and teacher created avatars that speak.  The overall idea seems to be that students will engage more with this tool because they are able to create a multitude of characters for different learning situations.  Students and teachers may also create dialogues to go with their vokis.  There are three basic platforms: voki, voki classroom, and voki presenter.  The only platform that is free is voki, which is limited to character creation and voice over.  I found the free version to be very frustrating because the adware blocks the majority of the tools needed to create characters.  I must admit that I was accessing the tool on a Mac, and am not sure if there are compatibility issues.  I was able to utilize very basic features and create several characters that said different things, which was entertaining, but with no practical purpose. The website does offer instructions for how to embed these characters in a google website, which is really cool, but even though I followed the instructions explicitly, the avatar still didn't work on my webpage.  I did watch the three tutorials offered by voki, but none of them really provided sufficient details to support their claims of how their platform makes learning more accessible and engaging than other platforms that are out there.  My gut reaction is this site is just looking to get your money and may not offer any other educational benefits than those found on other learning management platforms.  It's a neat tool, but not enough to warrant spending $35.00 to subscribe.