Group items tagged

lokiboy is a great example of an avatar blog - blurring the boundaries between 2D and 3D onlines spaces. Shadow of the 13 is an in-world roleplaying mystery - complete with clues and an online website. (See post)

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

Overview of Science through Second Life - a Motorola grant funded science curriculum implemented in a 9th grade Brooklyn science class, Spring 2008. (Full disclosure - Co-designed by Cathy) A practical example of using a virtual world to supplement and support standards based high school science. Note the environments NPIRL (not possible in real life).

This post details possible causes of low performance for those accessing virtual worlds with low end computers. This is just one of many design considerations when designing a virtual environment for a specific learning audience. Short story: The more graphics a computer needs to "see" (ie: load), the slower it is going to run.

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 article discusses how Teen Second Life and similar dynamic online tools gives teenagers another way to explore their identity, in a low-risk, no consequences environment, and how teachers can use this environment to explore serious issues.

Interesting website detailing some wonderful successes of Second Life. This resources shows that virtual worlds truly offer multiple ways to approach learning environments. The site provides many case studies detailing how organizations and individuals have harnessed SL to reach more people and conduct more effective "in-world" learning. Some of the successes have been found in a variety of types of institutions - both business and education - with fantastic results. Enjoy!

Second Life interview with Skoolaborate's founder, Westley Field. Good overview of exemplary Teen Grid education project now involving 40+ schools globally.

Happy Steve blog post chronicling ongoing student work on a Second Life Teen Grid Island. Booralie Island is the virtual extension of a Christian school located in Sydney, Australia. Their island is largely student created and used for many different subjects. Happy Steve is also a great example of a technology infused enthusiastic teacher. This post details students building a war memorial, scripted recording studio, coliseum ... on their own time and after school.

This SLOODLE (Simulation Linked Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) blog comments on and gives examples of using the plug-in SLOODLE to interface and integrate SL with Moodle. This is an open source project. The blog provides excellent tutorials explaining how this application works, and as you watch them, you start to imagine all the different ways you might apply these tools to the classroom. This site contains many ideas and examples for the classroom use of a VR as well as other web-based tools. One example of this is the dropbox for leaving notecard assignments. Once dropped, the notecard appears in the teacher's Moodle account. Once graded, the student immediately receives an email. Another paper describes using SL to teach engineering and then using the SLOODLE to track students' in-world laboratory participation and link it to the teacher's moodle. So we are seeing the virtual world integrating with the real world. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sloodle/126/94/23