Second Life: Wrapping Up

Well, it has finally arrived - my final day of Second Life blogging!  Today I decided to check out some new locations.  Read on :) Unfortunately my current locale has limited bandwidth, so loading was an issue at times, and pictures are not always of their usual quality.

First I went to Venice.  After my Eurotrip this summer, I was excited to return to a city I had explored in real life!  I tried to take a gondola ride (a Venice experience I didn't have), but sadly there were no gondoliers available.  There was a map feature to teleport around to different major locations in Venice, which was neat.

After that I decided to visit somewhere I had never been - Dublin.  Once again, the drama teacher found a stage where it could be fun to teach tech!

I also visited a couple of museums, both familiar locations to me.  I really loved the Holocaust Museum; that would be an incredibly cool place for a social studies field trip with an interactive component.

I visited the Exploratorium in high school on a psychology class field trip and loved it.  The virtual version did not disappoint - although, as with all these places, I will have to make a return trip with more bandwidth!  It was quintessentially San Franciscan with a plethora of bikes out front.

All these locations are great budget options for students to have an experience of a place that may be thousands of miles from their real location.  They can explore a different culture, or utilize the resources of an organization for absolutely no charge.  Second Life is a great way to open students' eyes and minds to the world.

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Currently reading:  Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Andersen
Current high:  a relaxing day by the pool awaits!
Current low:  bandwidth struggles

Second Life: More from EduNation

I stumbled upon a lot of different things today in EduNation!  I don't quite know what to make of everything that I found...

First of all, I started playing with teleportation more.  I knew that I had the ability to teleport to landmarks, but the teleportation pads were new to me!

So, that was pretty rad.  As someone who was raised on Star Trek (a.k.a. "Daddy's Stupid Space Show), the whole experience was very "Beam me up, Scotty!"

I also found a couple of other educational activities.  One I had explored with my professor, where students had to manipulate 3D objects to build a house with one person watching and describing and the other following instructions.  It reminded me of the activity where one person can see a design and must describe it to another person to draw it.  Also similar to "blind Jenga," a trust activity invented by my fellow drama teacher!

I am less sure of the purpose of the great works of art I found.  I tried clicking and right-clicking, but could not really interact with them.

From there, I found a hot air balloon, which was super exciting.  Talk about an experience I've never had before!  Second Life truly is a new existence in some ways.

Things took a turn for the even less educational with these neon-lighted peacock feathers?  I can't quite comprehend what they were or why they were there - although they were certainly fun to look at.

One more day of blogging to come - I think it will be time to get out of Learn It Town and EduNation to see a few other landmarks and consider their applications for learning!

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Currently reading:  White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Current high:  an amazing day exploring Ubud!
Current low:  couldn't find somewhere to get a gel manicure today :(

Second Life: EduNation Day One

After a few days exploring Learn It Town, I was ready for a change of scenery and decided to check out EduNation, another island specifically geared toward educational aims.

My first impression was the walls of the room I teleported to in the Sky Platform, covered in great inventions.

The room has a large table in it, as well as two podiums where students can speak.  It seems like a cool format for hosting debates and similar activities.  As a drama teacher, I think this could be a great way for some students to begin to confront fear of public speaking.  Only their voice and ideas are on display, not their face and body.  From there, students could work their way up to presenting live in front of a real audience.

I flew up to get an idea of what was on an island, then accidentally stopped flying not over the sky platform.  Talk about a long free-fall!  I wish I could have gotten video, so impressed that my avatar landed on her feet seeming completely unshaken.  My wanderings then brought me here:

Once I found the door to get inside, I found a square of individuals sharing their pedagogical ideas, leading me to the conclusion that EduNation is a bit more explicitly academic, whereas Learn It Town is specifically geared toward language learning.

Eventually I found some more familiar language-learning settings.  It seemed to me that this area is geared more toward language teachers and teachers in training, whereas Learn It Town is more student-oriented.

To wrap up - I was so tickled by "metaverse TV."  What a great name for a TV station in a virtual world!

More explorations to come tomorrow...I feel like there is a lot more to discover in this different world.

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Currently reading:  leafing through several different plays

Current high:  Bali, baby!!!

Current low:  I'm already itching to be on the islands...two more days :)

Second Life: Educational Aims of Learn It Town

Having now gotten my bearings in Second Life and Learn It Town as a whole, today I chose to explore some of the more intentional classroom-type exercises evident in Learn It Town.

First off, I visited the hotel again, the first place where I had stumbled upon some learning engagements.  This vocabulary-building exercise is a great way to engage students in situation-specific language building.  As mentioned previously, giving students a low-pressure scenario to rehearse these skills is an excellent way to build confidence.







I also found a (seemingly) random sign with the months of the year!












While strolling along the shore (one of my favourite things, especially in anticipation of my upcoming seaside holiday) I found a series of daises with what looked like screens in front of them.  When I walked around them, I discovered pictures on them; and when I stood on the dais, each picture was explained to me (e.g. "this is a boat).  This appears to be one of the simpler activities, intended to introduce basic vocabulary of a location.

I also returned to a few of the activities I explored with my professor when she initially brought me into Second Life.  They range from grammar exercises to vocabulary practice to TPR (total physical response) activities.  I really appreciate how some activities are more interactive, whereas others are meant to be independent, and others still can go either way.  With a 3D VLE, I feel that you are more likely to have some asynchronous elements, so this sort of flexibility does a good service to the students.

I feel like I've gotten a pretty good handle on Learn It Town.  Stay tuned for my explorations of EduNation!

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Currently reading:  almost done with Taming of the Queen...expect many more books in the week ahead!
Current high:  six weeks down, and it's time for the first holiday!
Current low:  tension in my shoulders...nothing a good massage in Bali won't fix :)

Second Life: Exploring Learn It Town

Today's Second Life gallivanting brought me to some more familiar locations - restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, and so on.

My first thought as I explored these locations:  what a great way to teach vocabulary!  Instead of holding up a picture of a banana or a beer, have them interact with the objects in a virtual setting.  A group scavenger hunt in one of these environments could be a really fun way to learn some new language.

Better yet, students can even practice conversations for these locales in a low-pressure scenario that mimics real life.  Using speech or chat, learners can rehearse basic exchanges with cashiers, servers, and more.  I discovered an exercise like this was already built into the Learn It Town hotel, as well as vocabulary in the tapas bar.

I love the possibilities available in locations as simple as a bus stop or "The Gad," everyone's favourite clothing store!  As a drama teacher, I believe in giving students a low-pressure first attempt at what could be a nerve-wracking situation.  I think this could be a great and authentic way to rehearse conversation skills.

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Currently reading:  a perusal copy of our school's winter musical!
Current high:  G10 drama kiddos rocking their auditions today
Current low:  hearing "why are you so gay?" come out of a student's mouth this afternoon

Second Life: The Adventure Begins

Greetings, readers!  This week my grad school assignments bring me to explore Second Life daily for a week, taking a "journey as a tourist in this world."  I've begun by exploring parts of Learn It Town.

Today I hit a few landmarks within the town and wandered to see what else I found nearby.  I visited the Learn It Town Cinema, Theatre, and Helicopter Pad.  (Sadly, the helicopter was unavailable to fly at the time - another day!)

The Cinema seems like a great way to share the experience of a film with distance students.  I have tried in the past to watch TV shows or movies with friends on Skype, but there's inevitably at least a second or two of lag time, so one person's reactions are a bit ahead.  This is a much better solution to having everyone enjoy the film together.

As a drama teacher, I was of course drawn to the theatre.  If I was using this space as a teacher, I would love to build in wings, a fly space, and other technical elements for students to learn from.

Second Life is built on a series of islands, so naturally, they are surrounded by water.  As a lover of beaches, I was enamored of strolling by the water.  I even found a boat that I could paddle around in while watching the dolphins play.  I discovered completely by accident that I can walk underwater!  I was walking along the shore, got my feet wet, and suddenly found myself immersed in the ocean.  Through that I found a surf board, caught a wave and wiped out, said hello to a shark, and piloted a submarine.  My real-life reactions to all these discoveries were huge!

Overall my first solo day in Second Life was really exciting.  Tomorrow I'll take a look at some of the more intentionally educational aspects.

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Currently reading:  still The Taming of the Queen!
Current high:  a lovely and much-needed evening with two dear friends
Current low:  two very challenging classes today...time to reflect

IMVU, Second Life, and World of Warcraft

Last day of blogging about my impressions of social worlds...let's see what it holds!

IMVU

First impressions:  I have seen ads for IMVU across the internet, mostly alongside screencaps of very busty avatars.  However, it does have accreditation from the Better Business Bureau, and has been advertised on The New York Times, USA Today, and The Tonight Show.
Age range:  Designed for ages 15 and up.
Pros:  It seems to have the same pros as any other 3D avatar-based site:  connection with individuals around the world, customisability, and so on.
Cons:  As I expected from the advertisements I have seen, sexual content is a given.  They do their best to filter adult content for users under 18, but there are apparently some cracks.  Common Sense Media explicitly states, "IMVU wasn't created with educational intent, and we don't recommend it for learning."  Language is not monitored in chat rooms at all.
Overall rating:  2 out of 10

Second Life

First impressions:  This is the only platform I have explored that I have had any recent personal experience with.  So far it has proven to be highly customisable and easy to use as a virtual learning environment.
Age range:  Second Life is designed for users of all ages, but best for those ages 16 and up.
Pros:  In my own experiences thus far, I have seen a lot of ways Second Life can be used as an educational environment.  You can create games, have round-table discussions via chat and voice, and explore new worlds.
Cons:  If your computer doesn't have an advanced enough graphics card or other system requirements, it can be hard to run the program effectively.  It does require a device that is in top-notch condition for effective play.  There is also a fair amount of adult content out there, so users must be very carefully monitored.
Overall rating:  7 out of 10

World of Warcraft

First impressions:  While I have never interacted with World of Warcraft, it is everywhere in pop culture; I have heard references to the game in television, movies, and my daily life.
Age range:  World of Warcraft is best for users ages 16 and up.
Pros:  Clearly this is one of the big dogs in the MMORPG world - well known, widely used, and respected.  It seems like a truly immersive experience; a beautiful world, thousands of users to interact with, quests and battles.  Clearly it is beloved to the point of addiction in some cases.
Cons:  After a free trial period, this is a paid service.  As is implied with the world "warcraft" in the title, it's known for being somewhat violent.  The age range also leads to some sexualization and drinking/drug references.  It is hard for me to visualize the educational uses of the game.
Overall rating:  6 out of 10

Reflections
As an elementary school drama teacher, I am still trying to figure out how any of these platforms might fit into my current teaching practice.  However, it is interesting to reflect on the directions in which education might be moving.  Only time will tell how deeply these platforms will be used in classrooms of the future.

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Currently reading:  I don't usually blog daily - so still the same!  I'll start slamming through books on vacation in just one week :)
Current high:  making scalloped potatoes for dinner
Current low:  the weekends always fly by, thank goodness there's just 5 contact days until break!