My first tour of the Island to a group from the UK ... and what better than members of Naace the premier professional organisation in the UK with a technology and (k-12) education mission.A small select group ... going for quality rather than quantity as they say in the time-share business. (it was also 9:00am on a Saturday)
I'm certainly feeling much more comfortable working in S.L. and, just like in the real world, small groups allow for more 1:1 interaction.
As my own confidence in the environment grows then so does my resolve that this is going to be an invaluable tool not only for teacher cpd but also supporting student (lifelong) learning.
In the presentations I do in the real world about virtual worlds (Second Life in particular) there is one PowerPoint slide in my 'show' that sums up the reasons for persevering ...
- Massive Constructivism
- Participatory Culture
- User Created Content
- Not a Game (but games can be played in S.L.)
For those who attended ... it would be brilliant if you could add your feedback and views in the 'comments' below .... I am enjoying these more and more ... and the 'following chairs' are still a novelty .. I feel like one of Santas (talking) raindeer ;-)
3 comments:
It was very enjoyable and actually a great example of how learning might be done in a virtual 3D environment ie. the concept of a tour led by a knowledgeable guide or teacher really works well using this technology. The fact that we were thousands of miles apart became irrelevant. It was the human interaction in real time that also enhanced the e-learning experience, and with all the development of learning platform technologies, this is what they lack.
A great session Chris ... I appreciate your time showing us round. The island construction of the islnad has certainly come on since my last visit but most importantly the underpinning ethos is beginning to show through.
Where some lead ... others will follow ...
You can catch up with my snaps of the event and more comments on my blog at http://www.dougdickinson.co.uk/blog/index.html
Thanks again for the guided tour ... love to the rats !!
I'd like to echo the above comments. A particularly powerful feature (for me) was the 'voice' facility. Your reassuring tones made this particular 'newbie' feel very much at home.
Thanks
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