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At On Teaching Online, and many other blogs, you’ll find posting comments is often accompanied by an icon next to your user name. These little, personal icons are gravatars. The word “Gravatar” stands for “Globally Recognized Avatar” and you can quickly sign-up and associate an image of yourself (or any other image) with everything from blog posts to email.
A gravatar is an icon you choose or create to represent yourself in shared virtual communities like websites, chat sessions, forums, or any other form of online community in which the user(s) wish to have something to distinguish themselves from other users. They are not required to post here or anywhere else online. Gravatars are simply a way to personalize the text you write.
Created by Tom Werner, gravatars make it possible for a person to have one avatar across the entire web. Gravatars are usually an image 80 pixels by 80 pixels that the user will create themselves. The process for creating a gravatar is easy and free.
Your gravatar will now show up next to your email address. That’s it. It’s an easy way to personalize without giving away too much, and identify yourself with style. Students often appreciate this little glimpse of you in what are otherwise fairly impersonal messages.
