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They sound like something out of science fiction, but Bitcoins are getting just a little bit more real every day. They're intangible and invisible, but bitcoins recently attracted some real investment capital from the Winklevoss twins, who first dreamed up the idea for Facebook - or so their lawsuit argued. A bit of background: Bitcoins are a virtual currency system. They were programmed by an anonymous programmer(s?) in 2009. There are a limited number of possible bitcoins that can ever be traded-21 million-and the "coins" become available incrementally. That process is crowdsourced (anybody can mint bitcoins) but it requires solving complex encryption problems. Most bitcoin miners have an army of computer hardware to do the work for them.

This online communication tool requires no log-in or password for students, but you may choose to set up a class account to collect student projects. With Voki, students create a person, animal, fantasy character or any number of selections from the gallery, add audio via mic, text or call-in, a background from Voki's selections or one uploaded by the student (say, one that corresponds to a story being read in class), and whatever bling makes this Voki unique to the student. Once the Voki avatar is completed, it can be added to blogs, wikis, websites via a static image or an embed to keep it's interactive characteristics. The website also offers lesson plans to spark your imagination. Here are some I've used: have a Voki be a character in a book to discuss the story. Each student can create a Voki until all characters are covered. Then, add them to an online class page on that book. have a Voki introduce the student's web page or blog. have the Voki reinforce a unit on online privacy

"Social Media History Becomes a New Job Hurdle"