Motion Portrait

Motion Portrait  is a fascinating site which produces a moving image of an uploaded portrait. You are then able to ‘try on’ various looks. I found the bandages very fetching! A static version of the image can then be saved and used as an avatar or maybe to illustrate a strange story.

My Avatar Editor

My Avatar Editor is an interesting alternative to Doppelme.com where pupils can create avatars to use on their web pages and blogs. Collect them together in an art programme to create a ‘class photo’ or create one which looks like the teacher!

Talking Smartboards

Talking Smartboards and Much More!

A treasure trove of Smartboard resources on Anne-Marie’s inspiring blog. Her latest posts include lots of Christmas activities but don’t stop there, there’s much more to explore and discover.

Build Your Wild Self

I would have posted this site 15 minutes ago but I have been busy making my Wild Self!

You could get your pupils to create their own ‘Wild Self’ to create an avatar to use on their web pages.

Your ‘Wild Self’ comes complete with a description of your features and their usefulness.

Voki

Voki enables users to create a speaking avatar.

In the classroom context they can be used for:

1. 1. Students can create avatars that are similar in looks or personalities and record a message that tells about themselves.
2. Students can exchange these avatars with e-pals either within their own setting or anywhere in the world.
3. Students can generate questions to ask their avatar e-pals.
4. ESL (English as a Second Language) students can use the speaking avatars to practice and listen to their speech. They may use the computerised voice first then record their own voice when they feel more comfortable. Writing, reading and pronunciation are all practised.
5. Students can create an avatar that resembles a character from a story, add a setting and give it speech. The speech could be from the story or a creative point of view (POV) from the character on an event.

Ed Tech Roundup

…conversations about using technology in education.

A bunch of like-minded, mainly UK-based, educators interested in educational technology producing a regular podcast with the aim of spreading good practice and innovative tools in education.

Pedagogically-sound Open Source and Web 2.0 solutions figure quite high on the list of priorities.

Blogs in Plain English