Voki

Ok, so this is a little gimmick that can turn a boring web page in to an exciting one.

Voki is simple and free to use. Once you have registered and have a Voki account, you can use the templates (and there are a lot) to create animated avatars. 

When I had finished playing around making one that looked like my cat, Saxon, I felt ready to make a proper one for my class VLE page. I had customised my avatar, the option is there to type a message for the avatar to say. It comes with the option to record and have your own voice speaking, so I chose to do just that. I then copied the source code and pasted it in to my class VLE page in a text box.

Pros- easy and simple to use- house of fun can be had.

Cons- it works using flash, so if you don't have a codec or driver for your Internet browser then you can't see it- I was unable to see it in google Crome on my VLE page, but I was able to view when I logged in through Microsoft Internet Explorer.

I can see a lot of uses with this. It could be the stimulus to a lesson setting a problem for the class, or it could be used as a message to someone as the link can be emailed easily.