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.

Second Life--Moving and Viewing

So, I just spent a few minutes walking around Eagle Island and have noticed some really exciting features of Second Life. I am really beginning to see how it can fit into an educational setting. I really like that SL allows it's citizens to fly. The first thing I did was fly to the top of a nearby mountain to see the surrounding landscape:

After flying around a bit, a video started playing. I didn't intentionally start the video, so I had no idea where I could find it to turn it off. So, off I went, on an epic adventure to end the chicken reproduction system video. I looked at the nearby videos and in the lab, but couldn't find it.

Next, I flew up and out to find a section of the island to which I did not have access. After flying in circles for a few moments, I found an outdoor classroom with a huge screen at its center. There, I found the chicken video and turned it off. Next, I flew to the beach for some much needed relaxation after the stress of flying around to find the chicken video (SL can be stressful :-p). So I laid down in the hammock. Brilliant!

Next, I roamed around to several other "boothes" that were set up that had some interesting information linked to them. I ended my time on Eagle Island this afternoon by watching the sunset. Sitting on...a goat.

As I was walking (running, flying) through Eagle Island, my creative teacher-juices began to flow. I began to think of the various destinations that have been created to mimic real life (at times, historical) places. Students would be able to access these places to get a 3D view of the particular region or city we are studying. Also, I realized people can create museums, or islands of specific events in history. For example, it wouldn't surprise me if someone has created an island for WWII or the Holocaust to be more specific. The potential to create these and other such "displays" makes SL much more intriguing and usable in the classroom. The more I experience, the more likely I am to actually try this with my students. I'm excited to continue to explore the SL world and its potential to aid in instruction.