I recently blogged on using avatars in education, and found that the site I had used in the past www.voki.com, now has advertisement on the completed avatars. I am wondering.....who is using avatars in their teaching, what sites are you using to create them, and are you finding ads, and is so, are they an issue for you?
I use avatars using the Logitech Websphere and quickcam 11.5. They are really good ways to explain recorded objectives to pupils. They are fun and accessible ways to engage pupils. If anyone else has used any similar or superior software please respond.
We use avatars in in Yacapaca and they really do help the kids take ownership of the site. They are not as cool as the Voki ones to be honest, but then they are not bandwidth hogs either. UK schools generally have a last-mile connection about as fast as two yoghurt pots and a piece of string, so this is important if you have 30 kids all accessing graphics simultaneously.
Oh, and no advertising on Yacapaca. None whatsoever.