Ed Tech Box

I really like flying. I think I'm getting the hang of this Second Life stuff too.

I flew around EdTech Island a bit trying to find the sandbox. It took me about 5 minutes of flying to figure out that different areas of the island have names (USERS or CAVE for example). So I flew around for a bit, keeping my eye on my "location bar." After a few more minutes I found myself in the Sandbox.

I quickly right-clicked and got to work. I noticed I could build a number of shapes, including several different regular polygons as well as a tree. I chose the box icon and started working my magic.

It wasn't long before I was enjoying a relaxing afternoon, sitting on my box. It was a pretty cool feeling--not because it was a difficult task to achieve or puzzle to solve, but because it opened my eyes a little wider to the potential of this MMO in an education setting.

I am excited about the possibility of creating engaging environments for my students. I haven't looked into the cost aspect and I'm sure it would involve an immense amount of time, but I think it would be worth it. I also need to look into the possibility of an iPad app, since my school is implementing a 1:1 initiative. If it is possible to use Second Life on an iPad, this application is going to be very appealing in the coming years.

My only issue with Second Life at this point is that it is extremely choppy while the objects are loading. I'm not sure if that is a Second Life issue or if my computer is in need of an upgrade, but my experience would be much more enjoyable if the environment loaded a little faster/smoother.