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.