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I've been following Kathy Schrock since the mid-1990s when I began using computers in the classroom. I have numerous bookmarks of her helpful websites filled with classroom resources as well as her blogs. She is the technology administrator for the Nauset Public Schools in Massachusetts. An earlier YouTube video has Kathy Schrock aka Kathy Dryburgh (in Second Life), gives a brief overview of what Lighthouse Learning Island is all about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7IC-JeK4Mc&feature=related. In a more recent video, Kathy along with other educators, explain how the Lighthouse Learning Island came to be and what it is currently doing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlwsXsTptbs. The original occupants of the Lighthouse Learning Island was the Nauset Public Schools but since then, several other school districts have joined this virtual learning platform. I was really excited how school districts are utilizing Second Life to offer professional learning development for their educators in Web 2.0 for teaching and learning. Additionally, educators from outside the district have attended these sessions. I'll be looking into how I am able to attend some of these professional development workshop sessions. Unfortunately, on August 1, 2010, Lighthouse Learning Island will be closing due to budget constraints. Kathy has rented a small plot of land on Eduisland 6 (SLURL) and will be announcing any upcoming professional development opportunities through the "K-12 Educators" group in SL. Her new spot is called "Kathy Schrock's Kaffeeklatsch".

Medical training programs are springing up in virtual reality, and they may bring big changes to the way health-care professionals learn their craft. Example of medical school training simulation in Second Life

Annenberg Media provides wonderful resources for teachers of almost any discipline from kindergarten though college. I use the American Passages series in my American Literature classes. Students can watch brief videos, which really bring content to life, but what is great is that Annenberg includes so much more than just videos -- discussion questions, other links to more information, glossaries of key terms, project and essay ideas. The drawback is the passive nature of the site. Students watch videos; they don't create them or edit them. The activities surrounding the videos incoporate reading, writing, and possibly discussing, but these approaches in isolation, as we have seen, do not always provide the most immersive or effective learning experience.

Edtech in 3D group notes: Site Description: Imperial College's virtual hospital where professionals can train and rehearse and patients can learn about healthcare facilities and procedures that they might need to use. Overall impressions: We were immediately impressed with the Medical School. The grounds were beautiful, and the buildings were designed with learning in mind. We liked the patient rooms, and the introductory podcast was a useful start to the experience. Unlike Vassar Island, we felt that we wanted to spend more time in this location - and we were left with a desire to return and learn more. How learning is taking place: Tour guides give visitors a wide range of ways to discover the island. Visitors can visit patients and learn about various medical conditions. From what we could see, lectures and demonstrations are also a large part of learning at the medical school. Likes: We liked the podcast that started playing as soon as we arrived. There were numerous tours and visitor aids, making it easy to get started. We also liked the immediate access to information. This set expectations up front, helping us to enjoy the experience. Dislikes: Because the island is full of information and is very immersive, the user has to go through several layers (tours, walking around, searching) to get to things. Applications to learning in virtual worlds: The patient rooms take advantage of the virtual world to create an experience that can't easily be created in the real world. They are a great example of how Second Life allows deeper learning than can be found by simply reading a book or listening to a lecture - without endangering an actual patient. Other learning experiences could apply this same tactic to become more immersive.

This is an excellent site that would be great for educators or business people who want to improve their virtual skills, expand their virtual contacts, or hold meetings. This site was created and is maintained by a university in the UK. I found a place for educators to make appointments to get help for improving their skills in the virtual world, many educational tools such as interactive slide shows and art exhibits, and a group I could join that connected me with other like-minded educators. The site was easy to navigate, well-designed, and loaded with content. Even though I spent nearly two hours here, I felt as though I barely scratched the surface. The only thing that I still find a bit odd is that I do not know why the title is Sexual Health SIM. I did not find anything related to health care. But again, there is so much more that I did not search.

This is the best site I found. You are greeted by a sign and welcome notecard that describes the origins of the project and how it has grown to over 100 region and explains the vision of the project:"… has been to inspire and influence future development, to expand working knowledge, to showcase creativity and ideas, and to encourage collaboration both inside and outside of Second Life." You can instantly access a map that allows you to teleport to the location of your choice including four different teaching sites, one for the arts a conference center, Learning, and Red Rocks. There are a multitude of resources here for the educator. Everywhere you turn around there are billboard that advertise upcoming events, signs that connect you to groups, and free things to collect. There are many places to hold meetings from small and intimate rooms to large amphitheaters.

The above link is to a paper written about the ways in which high schools can use virtual worlds to educate students or as part of supplementing high school students' education. The article addresses the value of role playing and social learning in the classroom. The author also asks teachers what has worked for them and their professional opinion about virtual worlds in the classroom. The author also addresses how video games can be educational.