Second Life is a virtual world. One type is the Virtally Linked: London Community. In this video, the folks at London Metropolitan University explain how they have designed ways to introduce the system to new users.
First, they tried handouts, but those were ineffective. Next, they tried allowing students to explore the system completly on their own, but this did not work either. Finally, what has proven effective is providing orientation in a similar way game designers introduce new players, by guiding the user to infer what to do.
As Deborah Butler said, some, such as myself, see this as a bit far fetched, strange, and involving privacy issues. Honestly, I don't know what to do with this in my classroom! It seems silly to me. Can students create historical characters and allow them to interact with each other? Can they create avatars that accuratly resemble the real people, or at least come close? If anyone has suggestions, please let me know.
Out of curiosity, I visited the London in Second Life website and found some reasons for which they believe people can use virtual spaces. For example, users can plan a real trip to London and meet people from the city before going, users can share ideas and hopes, and to interact like a real community. But, I am still not sure how to use this to enhance learning in the classroom.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Results From My Classmates Eating Habits Survey
In class on Wed. March 10,2010, our class made surveys for each other to take. My survey set out to find the dining out habits of my classmates, and the results were interesting.
Out of 8 completed surveys, I found most prefer to eat Mexican food when dining out, while my favorite, Italian, was not once mentioned.
Also, 7 out of 8 responded they would order either a dessert or appetizer when eating out. From these, 4 out of 7 would order both appetizer and dessert, while 2 out of 7 would order only dessert, and 1 out of 7 would order only an appetizer. This suprised me because I rarely order either.
Out of 8 completed surveys, I found most prefer to eat Mexican food when dining out, while my favorite, Italian, was not once mentioned.
Also, 7 out of 8 responded they would order either a dessert or appetizer when eating out. From these, 4 out of 7 would order both appetizer and dessert, while 2 out of 7 would order only dessert, and 1 out of 7 would order only an appetizer. This suprised me because I rarely order either.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
March 4: Relection on Sam's Digital Youth Portrait
Sam is a 13 year-old girl who is comfortable playing with technology. She is good at math and music, and is very creative according to her peers, parents, and teachers.
She is able to use technology to help her in school. In English class, she had to read a book, but did not understand it, so she downloaded it to her phone, and by doing so, the book was read to her and she could better understand it. I'm not sure how I feel about this. If she is struggling to understand, yes, she needs to find help. I'm sure she isn't having a book read to her all the time, but that could be a bad habit to get into. Everyone needs to be able to read text, analyze it, and come to some conclusion. If you have it read to you all the time, you become dependent on the person or device reading. I would encourage asking help from the teacher or form a student study group where everyone reads the book, understand what you can, and contribute what you can to the group.
Sam also used technology in Science class by creating a weather report from another planet using a video software. Sam really enjoys making videos. She said she has had a camera since she was a child. She enjoys directing her friends in creating a story.
Sam uses a virtual piano online to teach her how to play the piano. I thought that was awesome! Sam seems to be good at teaching herself.
Sam said that digital media allows her freedom of expression and to be someone else. She learns teamwork, problem-solving, and strategy from a game she plays online with other people.
I think the biggest take-away for me was just how much Sam uses technology to help her in her classes; it helps her improve, and to be creative.
I would like to reach out to the students in my class who like to create. I did a project in high school in history class where we had to make a video with other students about an event we had learned in class. My group chose the anti-Vietnam War protests during the 1970s. We had a lot of fun. We had to research the topic and then get together to make a video. I think that is a great way to learn about an event in history, to learn teamwork and collaboration, and to practice with technology.
She is able to use technology to help her in school. In English class, she had to read a book, but did not understand it, so she downloaded it to her phone, and by doing so, the book was read to her and she could better understand it. I'm not sure how I feel about this. If she is struggling to understand, yes, she needs to find help. I'm sure she isn't having a book read to her all the time, but that could be a bad habit to get into. Everyone needs to be able to read text, analyze it, and come to some conclusion. If you have it read to you all the time, you become dependent on the person or device reading. I would encourage asking help from the teacher or form a student study group where everyone reads the book, understand what you can, and contribute what you can to the group.
Sam also used technology in Science class by creating a weather report from another planet using a video software. Sam really enjoys making videos. She said she has had a camera since she was a child. She enjoys directing her friends in creating a story.
Sam uses a virtual piano online to teach her how to play the piano. I thought that was awesome! Sam seems to be good at teaching herself.
Sam said that digital media allows her freedom of expression and to be someone else. She learns teamwork, problem-solving, and strategy from a game she plays online with other people.
I think the biggest take-away for me was just how much Sam uses technology to help her in her classes; it helps her improve, and to be creative.
I would like to reach out to the students in my class who like to create. I did a project in high school in history class where we had to make a video with other students about an event we had learned in class. My group chose the anti-Vietnam War protests during the 1970s. We had a lot of fun. We had to research the topic and then get together to make a video. I think that is a great way to learn about an event in history, to learn teamwork and collaboration, and to practice with technology.
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