Hi there! Today I'm going to talk about the use of avatars in education. What is an avatar? An avatar is an image that can represents a person, animal or a thing. We use an avatar with the objective of keeping our identity secure. For that reason, using avatar when children surf the Internet is a very important requirement (in online communities, web forums of multiplayer games). There are a lot of insecurities on the net and we, as teachers, have to make sure the identity of our pupils maintain unkowable.
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| Image by Clker |
There are a lot of tools and apps that allow us to create our own avatar: voki, tellagami, rawshorts, bitmoji, avatarmaker, doppelme... and what's more, we can add voices, gestures, movements and background images with some of them.For example, I have choosen tellagami for making my avatar, she is going to be my representative from now on.
Let me introduce her 👇
Her name is Cous Cous, and she is from Italy. She is 24 years old. She lives in Rome, a city that she really loves, specially because of the work of arts we can find there. In that city, she can enjoy her hobby: the photography.
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| Image by Geralt |
Now, let's listen to her:
CREATION PROCESS
About the creation process of the avatar, I finally decided to make it using tellagami because I could choose the background picture. However, there are a great amount of templates we can use from the other tools, and even take pictures in the moment, like Voki. Talking specifically about Tellagami, the dressing process is absolutely clear in the App, you can find a great selection related with the face and clothes.
You can also choose the background picture, something very motivating for kids, and the process is so easy (once you
have decided your picture, you have to slide it on the square that appears and... there you have it!) But the most fascinating thing of this App, from my point of view, is that you can record your own voice nad make your avatar talk!! You have 30 seconds for recording, but if you prefer it, you can type a sentence and choose one of the standard voices available.
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| Another example of avatar. Image by Tricia CC-BY-NC |
have decided your picture, you have to slide it on the square that appears and... there you have it!) But the most fascinating thing of this App, from my point of view, is that you can record your own voice nad make your avatar talk!! You have 30 seconds for recording, but if you prefer it, you can type a sentence and choose one of the standard voices available.
At first, when you open the App, you will feel a little bit lost, but don't worry, if you investigate 5 minutes, then you will have it. So, take it with a pinch of salt, it will be worth it.However, I must say that this app can be used only with Apple devices and many of the effects have to be paid if you want to use them, something that can limite the use of it by the pupils.
A BRIEF REFLECTION
I consider the creation of an avatar an essential part when children use the Internet, because, as I said before, we can asure the privacy and identity of them. A recommendation is that teachers dedicate one lesson in order to teach students to create an avatar. They will feel very enthusiastic about the personalization of their avatars, using their pictures, voices, design... in definitive, their imagination.
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| LET'S USE OUR IMAGINATION Gif by Nialiskovkit |
Once they have created it, every time they participate in forums or online communities, they can use their own creations.
To sum up, I encourage you to create an avatar and motivate children to create it too. Feel free to use the tools I have mentioned before and if you know an amusing tool or App, don't hesitate to tell me. I am looking forward for your creations!
To sum up, I encourage you to create an avatar and motivate children to create it too. Feel free to use the tools I have mentioned before and if you know an amusing tool or App, don't hesitate to tell me. I am looking forward for your creations!
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