Twenty-First Century Learning

Lesson Plan

Title

The Voki Project

Learning Objective/Learning Goal

This lesson will enable students to improve their skills in writing and speaking English using an avatar published in the classroom blog. There will be unique lessons designed to use an avatar linked with lessons of the grammar book used in the classroom.

Class Procedures

The teacher should examine each and every curriculum currently being used so as to determine where to use Voki. In implementing the lesson plan, students will create avatars to their short stories or poetry. Upon introduction, students will research on great or famous people and create avatars that resemble these famous people. For those who like, they can create avatars that resemble themselves (Hardson-Hurley, 2010). The avatars will then be graded according to the established rubric. The grading will be based on different factors. The criterion to be used in grading will be based on Image, Duration of the Voki, Content, Grammar, Spelling, and Mechanics. Other factors to be graded will include the use of class time, pacing and enthusiasm, volume and clarity.

Lesson Description

It is a project that is appropriate for all courses in high school. The avatar helps in improving spoken and written English among students. To ensure it is accomplished, there will be various tasks for the avatar related to every grammar lesson of the program. Students will participate in writing on the classroom blog. The lesson plan will aid in implementing a tool to create a blog using English language. After every fifteen days, there will be an avatar journalist. He or she will be responsible for writing bulletin and classes connected to the English language.

Materials

The Voki website and the classroom blog.

Assessment

The assessment of this lesson or project will be made in the use of the Voki blog and depending on how the students benefit from using the blog. Learners will also be evaluated or assessed on how they use the Voki avatar technology (Krishelle, 2009).

Integration of Appropriate Technology

The technology integrated in the lesson plan or project is the use of Voki website and classroom blog. Voki allows the teacher and students to create their own avatar that will be able to speak. They will do it in a fun, engaging and stimulating way (Hagood, 2009). This technology is very appropriate as a modern method of integrating technology in the classroom. Teachers can have an opportunity to learn new things from the avatars created by the students. It has the capability to bring out any weakness in a student, which the teacher can then cultivate to ensure that the student performs well. It offers the students a platform to express their opinions and feelings in an online or internet platform. It is because a students identity is hidden behind the avatar created by this student. Voki website has proved to be of great worth, especially among language teachers (Krishelle, 2009).

Student Retention of the Lessons

Student retention in the Voki Project class will be very important in gauging success of the lesson. Student retention rate in the classroom designates the fraction of students who continue in the classroom or institution after they have started studying. High retention in this class will likely suggest that the teacher is supportive, and the students love what they are learning. The retention rate for this class will be aimed to be at 95 %.

Required Skills As A Result Of the Classroom Activity

Successful completion of this lesson will ensure that the students writing skills are enhanced. They will also be able to speak correct English that is free from grammatical errors.

Sample assessment and Voki Rubric

Voki Rubric

Category	Exemplary	Proficient	Partially Proficient	Incomplete and poorly done
Image	4 points The avatar	3 points The avatar almost	2 points The avatar	1 point 0 points The avatar did not
	matches the	matched the	somewhat	match the
	president. The	president. The	resembled the	president at all OR
	background is	background is	president. The	the background
	appropriate	appropriate	background is	was not
			appropriate	appropriate
Duration of the	The Voki lasts 45-	The Voki lasts 35-	The Voki lasts 25-	The Voki lasts less
Voki	60 seconds	44 seconds	34 seconds	than 25seconds
Content	The Voki covers	The Voki covers	The Voki cover	The Voki does not
	three issues	two issues	one issue	cover any issues
Grammar,	The script does	The script has one	The script has two	The script has
Spelling, and	not have any	grammatical,	grammatical,	three or more
Mechanics	grammatical,	spelling, or	spelling, or	grammatical,
	spelling, or	mechanical error	mechanical errors	spelling, or
	mechanical errors			mechanical errors
Use of Class Time	Worked on the task during the entire project. Asked relevant questions. Never distracted others	Usually worked on the task during the entire project. Asked relevant questions. Never distracted others	Worked some of the time on the task during the entire project. Sometimes asked relevant questions. Occasionally distracted others	Rarely worked on the task during the entire project. Occasionally asked relevant questions. Often distracted others
		.

Voki Rubric when using recording option

4 points pacing and enthusiasm	4 Points The pace (rhythm and voice punctuation) fits the commercial and helps the audience really get into the commercial	3 Points Occasionally speaks too fast or too slowly. The pacing (rhythm and voice punctuation) is relatively engaging	2 Points Tries to use pacing (rhythm and voice punctuation), but it is often noticeable that the pacing does not fit the commercial. Audience is not consistently engaged	1 point 0 points No attempt to match the pace of the storytelling to the story line or the audience
Volume and clarity	Voice quality is clear and consistently audible throughout the commercial	Voice quality is clear and consistently audible throughout the majority (85-95 %) of the commercial	Voice quality is clear and consistently audible through some (70-84%) of the commercial	Voice quality needs more attention

Rationale for the Choice of Voki

The NCTE definition of the twenty first century literacies is sound on the idea that technology has enlarged the current definition and meaning of literacy (Ohler, 2009). To be considered as a student or someone who is technologically competent, one should be able to utilize technology in learning. Additionally, for one to claim that he or she is technologically competent in the twenty first century, one must possess a wide variety of skills and competencies related to technology (Glasgow & Hicks, 2009). To achieve or realize this dream, writers and readers need to develop proficiency with the currently available tools of technology, such as Voki. In connection to this, exposing the students to the internet or online platform, such as Voki, is invaluable in developing a new skill and competency in writing, reading and speaking English (Burke & Hammett, 2009).

In addition to it, in the twenty first century learning should not be characterized by depriving the information in the internet (Crockett, Jukes & Churches, 2011). However, people should not just visit the website to gather resources, but they should participate in the creation of knowledge and resources. Developing a pedagogy that incorporates teaching students, the use of technology should play an important role that educators should be willing to participate (Christel & Sullivan, 2010). It is becoming evident that teachers or instructors who engage technology in the teaching process are successful. Such instructors find their students more engaged in learning than teachers who do not incorporate technology in the teaching process (Kist, 2012).

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