In the world today of video teaching I have often found it difficult to deal with my face out there on the computer screens of thousands of people.  I have made videos of just screen shares and my voice in the background, but sometimes there is a lot of static screen and just my voice in the background.  I wanted something that would allow me to put a face to the voice without it being my face.  I did some research and I found CrazyTalk 7.  This is software you download to your computer.  The cost is about $30 for the standard version.  It has the ability to take a picture and animate it.  To make the video you just attach the audio you wish to use to the character and the computer animates the character to match the audio that is being spoken.  I recorded some samples that will be attached at the bottom of this post.  If you don’t want to use your face you can use one of the many built in characters instead.  I have tried my face and it is a bit creepy to have my virtual head talking. Kinda like Max Headroom for all those who remember the 80’s.  I decided to use the build in cat for my videos.  I also thought it was strange to use my voice coming out of a cat.  So with a little trick in Audacity  (another great free software) I changed the pitch of my voice 4 half octaves, amplified and removed the background and I have a cat voice that is consistent for all my videos.  I embedded those videos into my power point and now I have a dynamic power point video that is not just voice in the background.  In my endeavors to become an online teacher I have found that having the correct tools to build video resources is very important.  In the next few Techformation blogs I will focus on tools one might need to make some videos on their computer.