Avatars and Education

Avatars are excellent for online education. They provide the human interaction that is natural in classrooms and in the traditional learning environment. I teach students online. Message boards, email, and instant messaging are great tools for writing. But what about voice communication! Posting a question on a message board is useful but many times asking the question is better. It is instant, direct, and uses the nuance of voice. Skype works well but avatars are better.