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Waterlife is an interactive story about the water cycle in the Great Lakes. Waterlife is a twenty part story through which students can learn about the role of water in our lives. Through the story students learn about things like fishing, pollution, invasive species, wetlands, and the politics of water conservation. When students select a part of the Waterlife story they will be able to hear narration, see visuals, and read the text of the story. Some parts of the story also contain links to external resources that student can explore.

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