The Bitmoji Wars
Over the lockdown one of the rages of edutwitter was the Bitmoji classroom. Even I gave it a go. Basically, a Bitmoji classroom is a virtual environment featuring avatar versions of the teacher u sing the Bitmoji app to create these avatars. Tools like Google slides are then used to build the classroom backdrop and hyperlinks created for the images. Learners can then move through the spaces virtually, clicking on a bookshelf image to get topic notes, for instance, or on a whiteboard to follow a link to watch a video of a scientific experiment. Social media was abuzz with teachers who were obsessed with creating Bitmoji classrooms. One can see why, as Bitmoji classrooms offer a way for teachers to create a sense of familiarity and connection with new students remotely. However as time went on, dark clouds emerged. Not all was well in the Bitmoji classroom universe. Over the last few months, strains of doubt and even outright rejection started entering the zeitgeist. That too much tim