Assignment #3 (Week 6) - My Aha! Moments in Second Life

As I was looking for safe places to explore I came upon national landmarks that were available.  I visited Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty (where I got a free t-shirt).  Even our very own Gateway Arch was available in SL.  I found these to be great places for students to learn about the history of something without actually being able to go there.  I can't imagine the time that went into building these place in SL.  The Sistine Chapel was soooo amazing to look at in SL I can't imagine what it's like in real life!

Here are some snap shots of my visits...

 ^This is me riding the tram up to Mount Rushmore^

 ^Relaxing on a bench looking at Mount Rushmore^

^Taking in the view at the Sistine Chapel^

Assignment #2 (Week 6) - Learning in a Virtual World

Reflecting on Educational Frontiers: Learning in a Virtual World

There were many points in this article that I connected with.  The first was that instructors should start by showing students what can be done in the virtual world before teaching them the basics so they can see what they'll be able to do.  I think this should be the case with many things that we teach.  Students need to know where we're going...they need to know "what's the point". 

The next thing that caught my interest what when the author talked about students disengaging from the lessons and going into "cruise control", expecting the teacher to entertain them.  The virtual world atmosphere makes them more of an active participant or explorer.  Sometimes I feel like I have to do a whole show in front of my students to get them to pay attention and they expect to be entertained.  They do not see learning as partially their responsibility and can get pretty defensive (sometimes their parents too) when you act as their facilitator or fellow explorer because they expect the information to be dispensed to them and not have to do any of the work.  I have found though that this is not the way they learn best, so if I push past the initial resistance and stick to my methods they learn more (whether they liked it initially or not).  If I could find a virtual world that was secure for my students to participate in they might enjoy this process more.

I am hoping to learn more ways that virtual worlds can be used in science classes.  Hopfully once we get into the building aspect of the course I will be able to perhaps build something that would help my students make an abstract concept more concrete.

Assignment #1 (Week 6)

I've explored a lot of Fontbonne Island now.  I figured out how to open doors, walk better, take pictures, change my view, and interact with some of the feature elements present on the island.  I tried changing my appearance, but it seems I've chosen an avatar that resists change.  I tried giving my robot a dress to wear and it says she's wearing it, but she is very obviously not.  I looked through my inventory some as I was trying to change my apprearance.  Still not sure what some of it does, so I didn't change much else.  The gestures were also fun to play with.  I wish there was a 'waving' gesture. 

In regard to the more 'challenging' skills...I was having some trouble figuring out how to change the time of day, but with a quick Google search I was able to find it.  I easily figured out how to sit on object by right clicking on them and could see how many Lindens I had at the top of ths screen.  I was able to find my friends (classmates) on Fontbonne Island.  Finding places to go in Second Life caused me a little bit of anxiety ;-)  I wasn't sure where to start and didn't want to go somewhere that I wouldn't feel comfortable or would end up costing me Lindens.  I need to be a little more courageous in that area.  I went to Freebie Island because I had read about it somewhere, but it didn't seem like any of the freebies were things that I wanted.  I did notice that there were places where you could watch commercials and take survey's to earn more Lindens, but I wasn't sure how secure those were.

Here are some snap shots of things that I did...

 ^Here's me pointing at a horse^

^ Here I am sitting on the horse^

 ^Dancing!^

 ^Still dancing!^

 ^Laughing because I'm having my picture taken with a plastic flamingo^

^Raising my hand^