NECC-Day 3

Personal Learning Networks in Second Life

Second Life is a 3D Virtual Online environment where you can create an avatar (virtual persona) and do things that you couldn't do in the real world. You can create a virtual classroom for your students and send them on learning quests where they can get the answers to the questions you provide. This gives the students a chance to be active participants in their acquisition of knowledge. You could give your students a chance to start up their own business providing a service that people want to buy, then rate them on how much profit they made over a set period of time. Perhaps you could facilitate a way for your students to interact with people from different cultures or different parts of the country and have them create collaborative groups to work together to accomplish a certain task. The possibilities are endless.

How can teachers use Second Life? The title says Personal Learning Networks in Second Life. There is an entire community of educators in Second Life that you can network and collaborate with. Have you ever felt a need to get help with a problem that you are facing in the classroom? If you have, you could use second life to find some helpful tips or advice. In second life there are groups of people who specialize in education resources. They host virtual trainings, discussions, workshops, and more that you can participate in from anywhere you happen to be with your computer and internet access. I know that "attending" a workshop from a comfy chair with my feet up would help me want to learn.

Second Life is a community that puts you in contact with educators from around the country and world. It is a resource that can be helpful and inspiring. The experiences you have are only limited by the time you spend in second life. Stay tuned for more updates on utilizing secondlife for your PLN.

secondlife.com
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Science Just Got Game by Ntiedo Etuk of Tabula Digita

Tabula Digita has created the "League of Scientists". The League of Scientists is a series of educational games focusing on science topics for grades 3-5. The goal behind the creation of this program is to help students in the target age group be excited about science. They also wanted to provide a way for teachers to use these games in their instruction. Teachers can assign the game play as home work or extra credit and then get a report of student progress.

The League of Scientists games are designed to be multi-user games. Multi-user gaming environments encourage effective learning and collaboration. The students help each other and push each other to higher levels of success.

Ntiedo (the founder of Tabula Digita) said that if we can keep students excited and interested in science during grades 3-5 they will be more likely to be interested in science when they get older. That interest will then lead the students to pursue science and technology related careers when they get older.

Educational gaming can be an effective instructional tool if used appropriately and in conjunction with effective instructional practices. You can go online and check out the League of Scientists and Dimension S from Tabula Digita. Stay tuned for more information on educational games.

http://www.tabuladigita.com/TD/corp.php?s2=3&s3=0
http://www.dimensionm.com/
http://www.theleagueofscientists.com/