Group items tagged

This is an article about utilizing Second Life to teach ESL. From language courses I have had, I know it makes a big difference for learners to be able to learn language in the context in which it is normally spoken. I can see how Second Life could have some applications to demonstrate to learners language spoken in context. "Second Life English" has an island devoted to teaching English. You may want to check it out.

This is a fun, interactive site which teaches students about the play Oedipus Rex and about conventions of ancient Greek theater, culture and politics. It uses a game show format and contemporary tone to get students engaged. The drawback is that it is text dense. Students simply click on what they think is the right answer. The right answer takes them to the next part of the narrative. The wrong answer takes them to a long paragraph of explanation. There are hot links within the text, though, which open other cool sites with pictures, maps, etc. This is a very specific site intended to enhance a person's study of Oedipus Rex.

I definitely would push for the use of Second Life in teaching Geometry.

Edtech in 3D group notes: Site Description: Visitors experience the exhibit through the mind of a schizophrenic. Overall impressions: This was a fairly intense exhibit in some ways. But, the virtual world made it possible to learn and experience the subject matter in a very interesting way. We had a more emotional reaction to the experience than could have otherwise occurred, due to the immersion level involved. How learning is taking place: The schizophrenia exhibit immerses the visitor in an experience that would be difficult to reproduce in the real world. Visitors hear audio clips playing throughout the exhibit that show what it is like to suffer from schizophrenia, and shares examples of people who have suffered from this disease. It is an intense exhibit, and it is very effective at teaching about schizophrenia. Likes: The warnings are a good idea, and the badge system (while cumbersome) keeps people from accidentally entering the exhibit. The audio that accompanies the experience is very effective. In this case, expectations were not clearly defined up front, which made it more effective. The impact of the exhibit could have been diminished by telling visitors too much about what they were about to experience. Dislikes: The exhibit required a badging system to enter, and the process of gaining access was a little confusing. It was difficult to take a picture, because the visuals aren't very sophisticated. However, the experience may have been too intense if the visuals had been more in-depth. Applications to learning in virtual worlds: The immersion that occurred in this exhibit was very effective, and we feel that this type of learning could be used in other learning applications.

Numbakulla: The Pot Healer Adventure Second Life Innovative Learning Environment SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Numbkulla/215/18/22 This is the kind of place that I imagined I would visit when I first signed up for Second Life. While Second Life itself may not be a game, it has massive potential to be a place where educational games can be embedded and hosted. The Pot-Healer Adventure is not an educational game per se, but a highly interactive quest that gets the player to explore and solve puzzles. However, it is one of the few environments I've found so far that has key elements that couldn't easily be reproduced as an Adobe Flash video. The game starts with a shipwreck, which has left debris strewn over land and floating in the sea. It's an intriguing beginning, and a nice device to allow the player to interact with nearly everything visible. At the start you can pick up a notebook, which keeps track of things you pick up in the game, and gives you hints about what to do. A notecard at the beginning tells players that they are to find out about a mysterious old civilization that a previous explorer is no longer able to investigate. I'm not sure how this environment itself could be used for educational purposes, but the way it has been designed could and should be adapted for other purposes. I imagine the explore-and-interact puzzle format to lend itself to teaching history, and anthropology. It would be a particularly good way to teach how historians gather evidence, and what they can learn from old diaries, work reports, and other documents. I am glad that I found this interesting environment, and hope to return and explore it some more. I think that it could serve as inspiration to others looking to create more interactive quest-type lessons.

This is a blog about the use of Second Life in teaching science, especially biology. It is meant to document my Second Life activities and development efforts leading up to and including my upcoming Sabbatical in Spring 2009. My sabbatical is to develop hands on modules in Second Life that could supplement either lecture or lab classes. Photosynthesis

The Virtual Worlds Story Project (TVWSP) utilizes "Questing" to develop interactive, immersive, and educational journeys designed to explore specific ideas/themes, teach vital 21st century learning skills, and generate Narrative Synergy™ through story.    The goal of every Quest is to help each individual experience and express his or her Narrative Thread™ - that special spark of spirit that makes each of us unique.  Once identified and articulated, these threads or "strands of story" form the warp and weave of larger communities of practice*.

elearningproject - using virtual worlds (Reaction Grid and Second Life) to teach English Language skills through adventure based learning. A 10 mission adventure where students must work together to escape Devil Island.

Ning site is dedicated to teachers exploring the potential of using MUVEs for teaching and learning about Social Studies. This is the group Virtual Pioneers in Second Life. Many links to great educational projects for K12 teachers and ISTE.

Apparently it can be done. Here is a PowerPoint describing the possibilities fellow mathematicians ahve found for using second life to teach mathematics.

The more I explore SL, the more possibilities I see for education, even at the elementary level. Nearly all my 4th & 5th grade students play some sort of video games and love them, so why not use that as a medium for teaching? I think the hardest part will be convincing districts and parents that it can be valuable.

Quest Atlantis (QA) is an international learning and teaching project that uses a 3D multi-user environment to immerse children, ages 9-16, in educational tasks. QA combines strategies used in the commercial gaming environment with lessons from educational research on learning and motivation. Participation in this game is designed to enhance the lives of children while helping them grow into knowledgeable, responsible, and empathetic adults. Does this interest you? They offer extensive educator training and support. Really an exemplary project. HIGHLY recommended.

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.

A brief comparison of Second Life and OpenSim alternatives for educators

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.

I was excited to see that The Tech, a wonderful museum in San Jose, CA, has a virtual exhibit. I found it interesting that they have very few traditional exhibits on display. Instead, they share free materials and teach visitors how to make virtual exhibits and display some user-generated exhibits - and there is the possibility that your user-generated exhibit could be displayed in museums in flatland. It's an interesting approach to a virtual museum, and I enjoyed the visit.

Project Based Learning in Second Life. Easily applied to other MUVEs - especially those that offer learner content creation in-world.

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

Islamic sites in Second Life used for information and training. Good use of learning objectives and justification of use of 3D environment. A Virtual Makkah, Masjid Al-Haram, Al-Andalus