Second life can help students to learn in their first life. What a great concept. I’ve been asked to explore this as something that we may look at in the future. I am a complete novice when it comes to online games so I’m in the early ‘research’ stage ( I love research!)
An online article here is a good place to start as is the fabulous third instalment of ‘Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0′ which is a really comprehensive list and commentary of ways to use the web for learners and teachers. A one stop shop really.
As far as Second Life is concerned I was discussing this the other day with my e-learning buddy at school (well really my mentor) and we were coming up with ideas for how to use it, I was thinking for English that it would be really useful to create a literary world, say Shakespeare or something that students don’t normally love as much as teachers (at least initially). You could have characters from the plays in there to interview and chat and students could walk around and experience the world and really immerse themselves in it.
I am learning to run before I walk, so more on this later. Sometimes the ideas run way ahead of reality, which is exactly what I love about using technology as a tool for school. However, I think I may need a second life just to get everything done!
Well, this was an interesting (is this a synonym for frustrating or annoying in this case?) day as far as getting students to blog at school. It wasn’t my class, so it was probably less frustrating for me than the teacher who was trying to get the whole thing running. I got a call for help and came in to find a teacher who was unable to get her kids blogs started because the server at school had blocked them. I later found out that they were filed under ‘private web pages’ for the security on the server and this was stopping access. We tried several ways around it to no avail and then had another teacher come in to use the lab so we had to move. To the teacher’s credit, she took it with equanamity and we calmly moved on. We had our e-learning co-ordinatory investigate and fix the problem, but he was actually teaching a class at the time so by the time it was fixed the class had finished.
Well, in the end we got kids started with their blogs, and of course we all know with any lesson involving technology you never know where it can go, but this was a practice SAC and the stakes were reasonably high at this point. It highlights the need to try things out well in advance, which in this case the teacher was unable to do because of limited access and time. I still believe that we have to try to work around these things and I hope that the teachers that I’m asking to do this as well don’t curse me for this!
It is vital that we encourage our kids to use technology for learning. The world that they inherit will need them to have some familiarity with this, it also encourages ( which is more to the point) problem solving skills, interpersonal skills, design skills, written communication skills, and I might add patience (!)
Thanks so much to all of you teachers who are doing this, you know who you are. I really appreciate your passion and enthusiasm and (the watchword of the day) patience. The kids will thank you for it even if you do get grey hair!
Second life can help students to learn in their first life. What a great concept. I’ve been asked to explore this as something that we may look at in the future. I am a complete novice when it comes to online games so I’m in the early ‘research’ stage ( I love research!)
