EDTEC700MULE

This zone is dedicated to learning about and using virtual horses. It includes information on how to care for a horse and how to find the horse that is right for you.

"ROLE Magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to highlighting the many facets of Second Life™ and to showcase the most interesting people, places and things in a high quality magazine production." Just stumbled across this while looking for educational areas - interesting publication.

Vassar has a beautiful island in SL which includes this re-creation of the Sistine Chapel. My colleagues and I were impressed with the beauty of the whole island and especially the loving care lavished on the Sistine Chapel feature. The frescoes were just wonderful and flying to the ceiling to view them up close was a thrill. The Raphael tapestries on the walls were an unexpected bonus. While we enjoyed viewing the works, we all agreed that some kind of docent audio tour would enhance the experience.

Edtech in 3D group notes: Site Description: An accurate-to-scale recreation of The Sistine Chapel. Overall impressions: We arrived at Vassar Island, and were immediately in the middle of the experience. We were impressed by the detail in the recreation of the Sistine Chapel, and found it enjoyable to view the paintings and tapestries up close and from different angles. Although the chapel recreation is interesting, we were not very inspired to return. How learning is taking place: Visitors can fly through the Sistine Chapel and view famous pieces of art from angles that would not be possible in real life. Additionally, visitors are unencumbered by crowds or barriers, and some historical information is available. Likes: Painting and floor recreations are very impressive. Access to the artwork from different perspectives is nice (such as flying or changing viewpoints). Clicking on the painting "The Last Judgement" gives a nice history of the painting. Dislikes: Tapestries are hidden, and a sign must be clicked to show them - but the tapestries disappear again in 30 seconds. Unfortunately, most items do not contain historical information. We feel that this location could be greatly improved by giving visitors some information up front, such as the limitations of the experience (mostly the lack of historical information provided), encouraging them to fly up to the artwork for different perspectives, and setting expectations about how much of the artwork in the Sistine Chapel is represented in Second Life. Applications to learning in virtual worlds: We feel that Vassar Island contains both good examples of learning applications in virtual worlds, as well as things that could be improved upon. The detailed recreation of the Sistine Chapel, with the ability to view the artwork from amazing perspectives, can be applied to other learning applications. More historical information or study aids would be very helpful.

A great site for Health Educators to increase interest and learning when discussing topics such as HIV and AIDS, general health, cancer etc...

The Literature Alive! group creates immersive and interactive literary locations in SL. The maze-like dungeon of this address, for example, has the visitor explore archetypal literary themes. I think upper middle schoolers and high school students would enjoy this adventure. The note cards and objects contain instructions, quizzes and information. Passage through the mazes requires answering quiz questions. Comparisons to modern literature and movies keeps the content relevant. You can also discover links to additional websites about the topic and teaching literature. Here is a link to the Literature Alive blog: http://literaturealive.blogspot.com/ and wiki: http://literaturealive.wikispaces.com/

A table (list) of over 100 science related places in Second LIfe. Includes SLURLS. If you are looking for a science related location to visit and report on, this is a super list to check out.

This is excellent. I went to the planetarium and was able to view the night sky from the perspective of Australians. What a great experience for students to have! They put on a presentation that includes history of the telescope, Galileo, current research in space, and ancient views on the stars. The night sky just opens up. It is if you are sitting at the top of the world.

Thank you for sharing. I visited a few differect locations. It was interesting to see how some were more of just a meeting place and some were very interactive and informational.

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.

This SLURL drops you right in front of the Sistene Chapel. When you enter there is a reference card to your right that explains how to view the art. It is amazing. You can fly up to the ceiling and actually touch the artwork by Michaelangelo. I would love to take my 7th grade students here or a similar site when we study the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The tapestries by Rapael come to life when you touch them.

I will definitely check this one out. I wow my students with Google Earth's street view and 3D buildings to show them the world. My student population see very little outside of their community, so it comes in handy. I am always looking for news ways to have them "see" the world. Thanks for the links. Now I will continue to pester my IS dept. to loosen up a little and let us have access.

Cynthia, we found the Sistine chapel too ... my group just loved this stunning location. I did not try touching the tapestries! I think we'll go back and check that out. Thanks for mentioning this feature we did not explore!

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.

One of the greatest challenges we face as high school physical education teachers is getting our students to be motivated. Although it is costly to have this sort of virtual reality equipment at our school, it is something that we can possibly plan for the future and have as an activity for days in which our teaching areas are affected by rainy day, construction, testing, or for students who cannot have long exposure to the sun. Sounds fun ☺

Yeah, I think in PE (or in any content area), finding a way to connect with our students and motivate them is crucial. I envision being able to integrate a Wii game system with a 3D Muve so that our students will actually have to be physically active in order to move their avatar in the virtual world,

Carolina, Does the P.E. curriculum call for daily physical activity? Perhaps one or two days a week students can meet in a computer lab and work in SL. They could build a gym, and post fitness goals on its walls. Also, there are many web sites out there that they could use to calculate calories in and calories out. Just a thought... Great article. ;)

This place was great! It was huge. First, I got on an airplane and took a Splo tour. It took me to different places. I explored the pi area, observed the moon's orbit, and lastly went to see the optical illusions at the exhibits. There were many exhibits. Most of the exhibits I visited had optical illusions. In science, I teach my third graders to observe by looking. There was the face/vase illusion, the distorted room, and lots of other cool illusions. This reminded me of the Exploratorium in San Francisco. With budget cuts, this would be a great place to show students without leaving school campus!

This article discusses students needs in education in the 21st century and the successful emerging virtual learning communities out there in Web 2.0.

Although physical education in second life would be more of a skills analysis or cognitive application as opposed to actual physical activity, there are breakthroughs in virtual reality applications for physical education.

This place was a dream for those who love the Renaissance Era. It is complete with Ren Art, merchant shops, jousting competitions, and friendly people throughout. I found the content to be right in line with the seventh grade HSS standards, however, from and interactive standpoint, there wasn't much. It is a fun place to be to interact with others who love this sort of thing.

OpenSim demonstration of lab demo. The author admits that this is somewhat futuristic example. However, it DOES indicate where virtual worlds are heading in the very near future. (perhaps 2 years?) Good to show science educators in particular.