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An excellent introduction to machinima with a great list of links for examples and further reading.

This site is an example of a way to combine storytelling and/or reading comprehension with a more interactive environment. You go to the magical town of Brigadoon and learn the story of some of its inhabitants. Along the way you get quizzed on what you've read. Kits are available for those interested in designing their own quests. I wish they had made the environment more interactive, so that one could explore the places referenced in the story.

Stellar design! A detailed and fantastic virtual world educational environment/activity design now being developed by U of Oregon for K12 teachers attending a summer program. Virtual Oaxaca will combine a virtual world space with a journey to the real Oaxaca. Please read for a great example of blending "real", online and virtual world spaces into a comprehensive, collaborative, CREATIVE! and reflective learning experience.

Wow this is great. I just recently visited Oaxaca and was fascinated by the culture. I was only able to stay in the city for a couple of days and I felt I really wanted to learn more about the indigenous population and it's effect on the Oaxacan culture. This is a great way to learn more and interact for those who cannot visit. It is definitely a rich and magical place.

This is another great SL site for beginners. It helps newcomers and people with disabilities. Text on signs are large and easy to read on the boards. It is very much like Discovery Island. It walks you through the simple directions of flying, changing your avatar, IM'ing, etc. I was able to get L$10! There is a place for free stuff also. When I arrived, I looked around, then found a balloon and took a tour. I also went to an auditorium dedicated to Karen Gams. She was instrumental in helping support groups, education for stroke survivors, and people with autism. While searching around, I heard voices. It sounded like a radio show. This is a great site for beginners as well as people with disabilities. If using SL to teach, I would definitely use this site to aid in helping beginners to become more fluent in SL.

Since our group is presenting on a piece of literature, I thought this was nice to see SLURL in action representing Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. " You can go through Capt. Nemo's sub! I can see an endless use of SL to replicate settings from books, that could really add to reading comprehension.

This is a comprehensive site with thousands of online resources to use to develop critical thinking in any discipline. The argument mapping tutorials, for example, use various articles to demonstrate the annotation, questioning, and thought process one should use to evaluate the logic of an argument. One of the first tutorials uses an article which claims the moon landing was a hoax, which is a very engaging topic. Many of the other topics are also very timely and engaging. The only drawback is that most of the activities are more traditional activities which rely mostly on reading and writing (sometimes on discussing with others) and which don't incorporate much hands-on activity. However, it is still a very rich site of resources and activities for college and high school teachers and students.

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.

Experience the exhibit as an journalist investigating Kristallnacht, listening to eyewitness accounts, touring the destruction in town, seeing photos and reading the stories of people that were killed...A very media rich and sobering environment. Plan on taking your time to experience it.

An installation of Guantanamo Bay Prison in SL. I have to be honest, I have yet to be able to explore it after repeated tries over the past week. I've read about it and am intrigued, but my avatar is unable to collect the prison uniform necessary for the experience. I'm going to keep trying because it looks fascinating. Below is a link to a machinima produced about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT7p231Cfxk

This is a wonderful place to be. There are people there that will help you or just offer some conversation. I went INTO a space ship and sat on the Lunar module. I read so much information and was able to see things animated, but my level of understanding of space could not keep up with all the choices. I enjoyed being here, but I think I'll stick to my history and/or literature content so I can fully appreciate what a place like this has to offer. What a wonderful place to spend an afternoon!

Doh! You scooped me. I spent two hours there last night and had a great time. I picked up a free t-shirt as well that I am currently sporting. I agree, this is a fun and creative learning environment. I rode the space shuttle, took an automated tour, had my photo taken on the zero G bed, and picked up a bunch of freebies. I liked the theme park feel, but got a bit lonely as I was the only soul there.

Great minds . . .

SLED® Blog -

Here's a great place to find out how K-20 educators are using Second Life to make learning more meaningful and fun. "Welcome to the SLED Blog, a blog dedicated to the ins and outs of K-20 education using the Second Life® world. This blog is written by educators and for educators, for those who are seasoned Second Life veterans and for those just starting out, for those who are die-hards and those who are skeptics. All are welcome. We hope you'll read, enjoy, and comment on what you see." Fantastic links and events! Dana

Controversial. Scary. Effective. A young woman is using SL to allow users to experience a virtual imprisonment in Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay. She focuses on a former prisoner, a British national, whose father reads letters from his son while he was imprisoned. The project is called "Gone Gitmo" and presents the idea that such imprisonment is unconstitutional. Avatars experience realistic recreations of camp "cells" and questions are raised about the suspension of Habeas Corpus rights. Whether one finds this appealing or appalling, it certainly evokes emotion and demonstrates the power of virtual worlds as a learning environment.

This site has a lot to look at; Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, etc. supposedly reproduced from the early 1900's. Some of the details are wonderful, but educationally the most value might be in a language class visiting this place to read all of the signs and directions. I can envision a second-semester or second-year French class coming here with an assignment to translate the signs and posters. It would be a bit of an adventure to find them and discover what they are describing. I do not speak French, but I enjoyed riding the streetcar and watching a real-life old movie in the Cinematographe (theater?).

This award-winning website allows children to: * Interact with dozens of famous historical and fictional characters from the arts, literature and sciences. * Submit creative writings for others to read and comment upon. * Explore famous works of art and play art related games. * Undertake challenging quests that take kids into the world of classic literature, the arts and humanities. * Practice typing with typing-tutor games. * Learn best practices for staying safe on the Internet. The website is not free, and they have a Teachers Console for class management. They recently partnered with the San Francisco Opera to bring classical music to young adults.

Dizzywood was developed by the entertainment company Rocket Paper Scissors. It is considered a virtual game, but there are many learning experiences built in. Dizzywood is participating in an elementary school program with the Reed Union School District in Marin County. "The highly interactive workshop uses virtual activities to reinforce the school's character pillars, which include caring, citizenship, fairness, respect, responsibility and trustworthiness. Students also learn about important issues relating to virtual worlds, such as digital citizenship and online safety, as well as complete storytelling and team-building exercises that emphasize creativity, writing and reading skills, and working together to achieve goals." In addition, they have partnered with the YMCA to create a virtual learning program promoting cooperative skills.

Had to mention this one. I was greatly impressed with this location. It starts you off in a room that is black and white. Gives you a sense that its old. There are artifacts lying around that belong to someone. The room looks trashed and there are propaganda posters all around. It really gives you a sense of place and time. Then you can explore what looks like a German town. The town has been ransacked by the nazis. You can go inside the buildings and looks through peoples belonging, including journals. Its very eye opening and I imagine that anyone that visits would learn something.

When I first heard about this--I think someone mentioned it in class--I thought, "Well, you can just take a virtual tour of the museum. What would be different in Second Life?" Well, it is different. I just got back from the museum in DC and this is just like you said, Veero, like visiting a scene back in time. A place like this would really help my student understand and feel what it must have been like to live and die in this time. We read The Diary of Anne Frank and The Book Thief and this SLURL brings these settings to life. The voices of the survivors was such and excellent touch.