Using Voki to Get to Know Each Other on the First Day of School!

I wanted my students to to do a couple important tasks on the first day of school, so I found a way to combine them into one activity!  Efficiency!

Since it's the first day, some of us don't know everyone!  A mixer is a nice, old-fashioned way of getting to know each other & building community in the classroom!  Instead of the traditional walking around mixer, I decided to do a techie version that requires students to embed a URL on their blog & comment on each others' posts!!!  (I bet these kids never expected this on the first day!)

The 21st Century Skills I chose to focus on during this activity:

• Think Creatively
• Make Judgments and Decisions
• Create Media Products

The mixer is called "Two Truths and a Lie."  Students brainstormed two things that are true about themselves, but that might not be very believable to their peers, and one thing that is actually untrue that might be believable by their peers!  They mix them up & record them on a Voki.  After they are finished, they embed their Voki on their blog for others to listen to.  When people listen, they post a comment with their best guess as to which one might be the lie.  At the end of the period, the students post a comment on their blogs explaining which one was the lie for all to read!

I wanted to get technology into my students' hands right away, because we needed to establish some daily routines, access some information online, and I needed my kiddos to pass on some details to their parents after school.  I also wanted my students to access their GMail to accept invitations to our Weebly site, and learn how to create blog entries.

Here is a link to one of my students' blog entries where some peers listened to their Voki and have posted their guess as to which one of the three facts was actually a lie: http://psolarz.weebly.com/58/post/2012/08/two-truths-and-a-lie.html