EDTEC700MULE

This is a very recent post regarding the integration of current events in education, by means of Second Life. The article specifically describes how high school teachers have created an oil spill in Second Life and are having students think of ways to control this environmental nightmare. Creating real life problem in Second Life enriches the manner in which students interact with news. This type of work leads me to believe that many aspects of a student's development can be worked at the same time! More bang for the buck! These teachers do however, have he economic and technical support from the city of New York.

Interesting, relevant, and popular sites in SL. Topics include General, Pedagogy, Research plus more. Add your own favorite slurl or website.

Though I know this is one of the places already listed, it is also one of the places my group and I visited together, which leads me to believe I need to post it again. Sorry for any redundancy. Generally, This place had a lot to see, but some of it wasn't really working. I had trouble accessing a few things that would have been really neat had they worked.

This is a virtual botanical gardens. When you travel to this zone you will find information about different trees and plants and have the ability to purchase them. It is quite expansive, and truly showcases some beautiful natural features.

Another blog by an educator who is bringing her middle school to Secondlife. Suffern Middle School in Second Life A running account of the process of the proposal, acquisition, development and integration of a virtual presence for education at Suffern Middle School, Suffern, New York, USA.

Accredited 3D homeschool (middle and high school) This page features a video overview. Looks like they mash up their virtual worlds with a Moodle CMS. What do you think of how they use the virtual world component? Good, bad? other? Not sure what virtual world platform they're using.

This looks very interesting...I don't know how effective it would be. The student would have to be very self motivated to be successful. It does look like a type of Moodle they are using. I think this could be a good alternative for homeschool students though.

Alright this one just makes me laugh. Sad, but funny.

Remember TJ from EDTEC 541? Remember our discussion about virtual worlds and addictions. I thought of his blog.

Helpful page from "Puritan's Guide to Second Life" blog, for the newbie SL users in our group. I know I still won't know everything once this class is over...

Categorized lists include: Beautiful Places | Historical Recreations | Commemorations | Museums | Art | Galleries | Science | Technology | Space | Astronomy | Science Fiction Media | Nature | Public Parks | Education | Schools | Libraries | Religious Places | Health | Medical | Dancing | Really Cool Elsewhere | Linden Lab | Second Life Showcase ... and sidebar jpegs to entice you there.

This island is a great way to stay informed about current CDC trends. It is place to meet with those that have similar ailments. Judging by the calendar that is available on the informational walkwayt, it looks as if they hold meetings or conferences with individuals that may be suffering from specific diseases. It is calming and peaceful environment, with sounds of birds chirping and refreshing landscape scenery to enjoy while visiting.

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.

This is a wiki that explores educational uses of different virtual learning environments. It was really interesting learning about programs/tools other than SL, such as augmented reality. Click on the "About Us" link to find out more about the Horizon Project.

Port Charles is one island among many in the region of Jabberwock in SecondLife. The islands are set in the 1700's in British colonial Jamaica, where the Royal Navy is battling with pirates. This island is British territory, but others are trading outposts controlled by pirates or smugglers dens that reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. This is a role playing environment with fairly strict rules for battle, speech, and dress. After spending some time here I learned about the politics between the British and pirates, and how people dressed.

Virtual Native Lands is an educational non-profit corporation that promotes Native American culture through virtual worlds. Visitors learn, experience, and appreciate Native American cultures within this second life world. Three islands represent ten major cultures from Mesoamerica to the Arctic.

Games: Six engagement elements, examples and applications. Community, Competition, Completion, Creativity, Puzzle-solving, Narrative EDTEC700: What elements make sense for YOUR 3-D learning design? Any of them? Something other?

This is an incredible location- a collection of intriguing landmarks from a variety of subjects. You really need to stop by here and pick up some good ideas about places to visit in SL and the internet. From one location you can view displays on many topics complete with links to webpages and notecards containing additional references. Some ideas: DaVinci's Observatory, A Cooking Center, Hyperhistory -http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html Spectrum School Network- http://www.incwell.com/Biographies/ History of Computing and Learning in Education Open Library: directory-style search http://openlibrary.org/search/subjects?q=educational+technology

This is a cool SLURL that lets users learn about Archaeology. My school offers an archaeology elective to students. Students could use this site as a precursor to conducting their real dig by learning about surveys, stratigraphy, absolute and relative dating, and identifying the various layers of a dig site. It also allows them to use a various tools from a dig site.

Re-creation of Oklahoma in 1890. A quiet historical Cherokee town in the old west. No roleplay, just good international folks.

I have always wanted to visit Morocco because of what I've heard of the outdoor markets, mosques, food, beaches, and the culture from friends who have traveled there. This virtual space was actually constructed by students from Johnson & Wales University who had visited and in collaboration with the Moroccan Ministry of Tourism. When I teleported, I arrived in front of a fez booth. I took and wore one that allowed me to obtain information about my virtual surroundings as well as provide tips; it did warn me of monkeys. As I wandered thru the open markets, it was devoid of avatars but there was a gentle roar of a large crowd when walking in a specific area, and some of the stalls were empty with a couple of them with For Sale signs. Many of the stalls were offering garments, rugs, spices, kabobs, and baskets for sale. There were notecards, photo slideshows, and videos available that included tourism information and website links. I took a walk/fly thru stone-lined streets and walkways around the quaint residential buildings situated by ocean front views and I noticed that all the buildings have satellite dishes. This was a detailed little city with soccer fields, orange tree gardens, beach, outdoor café, and a mosque. I noticed two monkeys on a stand and I was expecting something to happen when I clicked them on and sat next to them; nothing happened.