Global Kids Online Leadership Program offers students from all over the opportunity to connect with each other to participate in various projects. This part of their site http://www.olpglobalkids.org/virtual_worlds/ was very interesting to me because it showed an example of a movie on human trafficing produced in Second Life. Every year in the 9th Grade Computer Literacy class I assign a movie project. Although the students enjoy the assignment and some of the films are pretty impressive, we are always limited by the technology available to us in terms of cameras and sound equipment. It occurs to me that giving students the opportunity to make a movie in SL might allow them to overcome the limits of the technology in the expression of their sophisticated ideas. They will still be learning about storyboarding, scripting, and plot development, but they won't have to worry about how to get a bird's eye view shot in a locale unavailable in Saudi Arabia! This movie would be a great exemplar to show them.

This professionally produced piece at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmSEF-ntdOw is a news story that came up when I googled the search "Second Life in education safety". I have been concerned about getting my students involved in a virtual world that might not be a safe place for them to be. Of course, the "Teen Grid" is a possibility, where no adults are allowed, but it is difficult even for bona fide teachers to gain entrance, so that adds an unnecessary level of complexity to using this tool in the classroom. I'm finding myself being won over to the idea that instead of keeping the students away from SL, that they are taught to function in this environment in a safe and conscious way. After all, there is nothing to keep them from setting up a presence in Second Life (and other MUVE's) at home. At least this way, the school can help them see the educational value of these online places and how to be safe there.

I forgot to include the link on YouTube! It's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMGR9q43dag