Building a Box - In Second Life!

I recently hand the chance to explore EdTech Island in Second Life.  This island was built by Boise State University to support teachers, and it includes tutorials, free scripts, and an area to practice building objects.  I met my friend on this virtual island, and we found the sandbox.  The sandbox is an area on the island where you can build items.  I built a red box and took a picture of us next to the box.  I did not realize how easy it would be to build items in Second Life.  It was as simple as two clicks, and I had my box built in this virtual world.  It was also nice to collaborate with my friend and find out together where the sandbox was located, as well as how to build objects.  We were able to chat easily with the chat program in Second Life, and we even talked through our microphones to each other.  I can envision sending my students on tasks where they have to work together to build objects in other areas of Second Life. 

Another area I visited on the island was Machinima City, which was a replica of a town in the Old West.  I walked by the saloon and the town bank, and it reminded me of the many movies I have watched depicting this same scene.  There were video kiosks that I could click on, which took me to the VWBPE, Virtual Worlds – Best Practices in Education, website where I was able to learn about the neat things happening in education with virtual worlds.  I thought this was well planned and it definitely raised my interest in virtual worlds and education.  The more that I explore in Second Life, the more opportunities I find for use in education.

Second Life - Tour of Eagle Island

Watching a slideshow

Eagle Island is a location in Second Life that is filled with presentations, videos, and even tours, that are centered around food safety.  The island's main purpose is to educate people on how food is delivered from the farm to the dinner table in a safe manner with high-quality products.  On my tour, I was able to walk around the island and watch slideshows about the poultry industry, as well as tour the Egg Processing Facility.  This tour really opened my mind as to how Second Life could be used in the classroom.  My initial impressions of Second Life for educational purposes was skeptical due to what felt like a free-for-all feel to the virtual world.  However, Eagle Island proved to me that there are places in Second Life devoted to strictly educational purposes, and it seems to be an effective way to allow students to explore and learn new concepts.

Touring the Egg Processing Facility on Eagle Island

My favorite part of Eagle Island was the tour of the of Egg Processing Facility.  This tour took me from room to room showing the different steps involved in bringing eggs to the dinner table.  The tour allowed me to explore at my own pace, but provided enough guidance with signs to keep me on track and focused.  Students may be more receptive to this style of learning, because it allows them to be in control and feel like they are actually in the room.  I'm excited to find more educational opportunities in Second Life to bring to my classroom.

Top Two Educational Websites

This is my review of two educational websites.

ST Math

This math software is a supplemental program to the core curriculum being taught in the classroom.  It takes a visual approach and leads the students to develop number sense and think ahead.  I could envision using this program with some of the students that I currently teach who are struggling with Algebra.  The visual stimulation may fit the different learning style that many students have when struggling with math concepts.  The software also includes instant feedback, so students can see what they may be doing wrong, and correct it immediately.  I will definitely be looking into using this software in my classroom.

SimpleK12

This professional learning network allows teachers to collaborate and share ideas on how they use technology in their instruction.  Teachers can participate and watch webinars, how-to videos, and share lesson plans.  This will help teachers use technology in their classrooms, and gain skills with technology to feel confident in using it to teach students.

Gamers and Education

I recently had the opportunity to watch Jane McGonial discuss gamers and game-play as they relate to solving world problems on TED.com.  Her main point was that in order to solve real-world problems, we need to play more games online, maybe 21 billion hours a week.  Many people do not feel as good in real life as they do in games.  People cooperate and collaborate in games when they would not do that in real life.  People feel overcome and frustrated when they are faced with tough tasks in everyday life, whereas in games, they gladly accept the challenge.  People believe they can accomplish the task in games, because it matches their skill level with the task.  These thoughts can have a direct impact on how games are designed and used in education.  If I could somehow harness the power of gamers to focus on learning math skills, or any other educational skill, then student would be more than willing to accept the challenge.  I have to try to match the skill level of the gamer, or rather the student, with what needs to be learned.

McGonial goes on to state that because of the positive feedback in games, it enhances the confidence of the gamer.  The average young person will spend 10,000 hours playing games before they are 21, according to McGonial.  Young people are learning about games at the same rate they are spending hours in school.  As an educator, I have to take notice of this and decide how to teach the curriculum so that students will want to learn.  There is an entire generation of people who spend at least an hour a day playing online games. The game industry keeps producing games, especially now that smartphones are popular, but educators seems to be stuck using teaching concepts that are no longer effective for this new generation of students.

McGonial also discussed four concepts that gamers use, maybe subconsciously, to complete a game.  One is urgent optimism, where gamers always believe an epic win is possible.  The second is social fabric, where playing a game with another person builds trust and stronger personal ties.  Third is blissful productivity, where gamers would rather engage in a task that may be difficult instead of doing nothing.  And the fourth is epic meaning, where gamers love to be attached to missions and stories.  All four of these concepts should be used to engage students in learning in our schools today.  I believe, after watching this video, that today’s student needs and deserves an educational experience that matches what they receive in the games they play.  It might be the best way to solve the real-world problems we face today.

Moving Around in Second Life

I can fly!

I am attempting to learn about Second Life and how it may be useful in education.  I recently explored "Second Life Welcome Island" to get a quick introduction to moving around in this virtual world.  The controls were very simple, as the avatar can walk, run, or fly by pressing the arrow keys. A sign in Second Life directed me to press "page up" and the up arrow to fly.  I soon realized this meant to press the "fn" key on my Mac.  I would recommend having a fast Internet connection when using Second Life, as it may take awhile for some screens to load so your avatar can see everything in the digital world.  

My avatar reading an instructional sign at Welcome Island.

Second Life Review

Second Life (http://secondlife.com/) is a virtual world that allows its users to create avatars and travel to destinations all over the world.  The avatars can communicate with each other and interact in the digital world through the Second Life browser.  I recently joined Second Life to see how it might be used in my high school classroom, as well as other educational endeavors.  The Second Life browser was difficult to get the hang of at first, but after venturing out into the virtual world, I quickly was able to teleport to many interesting places.  I was impressed right away with the fact that I could teleport to many historical landmarks and explore.  I could see how this might be useful in history, science, and many other disciplines at school.  Also, I have read articles that talk about lecture halls in Second Life, where students take their avatars and listen to a lecture presented by a guest speaker or their professor.  As a math teacher, I could see the possibility of taking my class to the Great Pyramids to discuss the volume and surface area of a pyramid.  


Even though Second Life has great potential in education,  I feel it is not in an environment  that can be controlled effectively for younger students.  The avatars can approach any other avatar they come across and chat or even talk over their microphones.  While this feature brings about many great opportunities, such as chatting with their professor or a famous scientist, it also brings about the uncertainty of who else students may chat with in this virtual world.  I guess this is true of the Internet in general, but I bring up the point to emphasis that careful planning must be taken in order to ensure students arrive in the educational arena of this virtual world.  


Second Life will surely draw the attention of students and involve them in the learning process.  It has great potential to allow students to interact with people and places that they may never get the chance to experience in the real world.  Students in middle and high schools today have grown up with virtual worlds and technology available to them in an instant throughout the use of computers, tablets, and gaming consoles.  It seems certain that educating these students will have to take place in an arena that they are comfortable with and peaks their interest.  Second Life could be a great technology tool to fill this need.

A tablet for $35?

India is in the process of releasing the Aakash tablet.  This would not be ground-breaking news, if it was not for the price, which is only $35 with a government subsidy, and $60 at retail price.  Chikodi Chima at venturebeat.com states "India, which has a population of nearly 1.2 billion and is home to 40 percent of the world’s poor, has experience paring down high-end technology and making it affordable and accessible.".  Now the tablet will provide many in the country the chance to get connected to the Internet.  It does not have all of the frills of an iPad, but it is built to serve a population where many have never been on a computer.  The Indian government is so committed to the tablet, that they are scheduled to release a second version in April 2012 that is faster and holds more battery life (http://aakashtablet.org/).  This tablet will open up educational opportunities by allowing the users to create documents and spreadsheets, or watch online educational videos.  The free knowledge available on the Internet may now be used by the poor in India to educate and increase their quality of life.  I can picture a small, remote village in India where children gather around with their tablets to learn about the outside world.  This tablet may be a sign of things to come in the future, as technology becomes more affordable and more and more products become available to all people.  This is definitely a step in the right direction for India and their educational system.


Read more about the tablet here.