Assignment 8-2: Readings

Teaching with Second Life
Some of the things that the author talked about reminded me of our class.  The voice chat allowing for a quicker interaction is one that sticks out in my mind.  If everyone in our class had a microphone I think things might go a little quicker.  On the other hand we might interrupt each other more too.  I thought it was also a good warning that the author gave about having a computer with adequate capabilities to participate in Second Life.  It was great to get the letter at the beginning of the semester telling us what was required in order to be successful in SL.

What Second Life Taught Me about Learning
I never really thought about learning SL according to my learning style, but I guess that's how I've approached it.  Many times I need to hear someone explain a concept and see it as well, so I've spent some time looking at things on YouTube and reading step-by-step instructions on blogs and wikis.  I felt the exact same way as the author described in paragraph 7.  That I wasn't really sure how to find interesting places on my own and didn't move around very well at first.  After some practice, research, and exploring, I got better.

Levelling the Educational Playing Field
When the author spoke of the participants in a SL class dropping their inhibitions allowing them to participate more fully in the experience reminded me of myself.  I am not one to jump into a conversation in a face-to-face meeting with a group that I hardly know, but in SL it is easier for some reason.  I read so much into peoples body language and the look on their face and those are sometimes not directed at me, but I take them personally and often stop interacting.  In SL I don't have to worry so much about that because my classmate are putting their feedback in words or I can just hear it and clarify from there.

Using Web 2.0 in Teaching and Learning
I was already familiar with all of the applications that the article talked about.  I did enjoy reading the strategies for using each in teaching and learning though.  I'm always looking for good new ideas to use in my classroom.  I especially liked the discussion on wikis because that is the one that I've probably spent the least amount of time working with.  I like that a wiki can house documents, powerpoints, pictures, etc.  It bothers me sometimes that the blogs and sites that I maintain do not make it easy to attach documents and powerpoints.

SL Etiquette
Most of this document seemed like common sense to me.  One thing that caught me off guard was the talk of trolls.  I let out a little chuckle when reading about these pesky little guys.  I had no idea of their existence, but will for sure steer clear of them.  ;-)