Hi everyone,
This is my first post on the SLED® Blog, good to be here, greatful for the opportunity…
Anyway, as an advocate for virtual worlds in education, particularly Second Life, I’m constantly looking for articles to share with “non-believers.” Colleagues, family, friends often want to know “what Second Life is all about” and/or “what are its educational uses?”
These aren’t questions that can be answered with an elevator speech. Thankfully both the mainstream media as well as established educational journals have taken this subject on, providing excellent resources to help answer those questions, and more.
The first article I want to share is “If Second Life isn’t a game, what is it?” (MSNBC.com, March 2007). This is one of the best articles I’ve ever seen in the mainstream press about Second Life. It’s balanced, well written, thoughtful and hits all the important features and benefits of Second Life. For people who are used to reading news online, it’s a great starting point.
The second, published by School Library Journal, is called “Meet the New You.” Kelly Czarnecki and Matt Gullet do a fantastic job describing Teen Second Life in this piece. It’s a little bit longer but precisely the type of article you’d want to share with an administrator or school board member. It’s low on jargon but high on vision; it paints a realistic, powerful picture of several innoative educators (like my good friend Peggy Sheehy at Suffern Middle School.)
The third, which I just recently saw, is called “School, virtually: Higher education gets a Second Life” and it appears on the San Diego CityBeat ezine. Focused on higher education, this is one of the most detailed, well supported, unbiased, example-laden explorations of Second Life I’ve come across to date. Megan Burks gets her facts right and manages to poke fun while being completely serious in her treatment of the subject. While the source might raise eyebrows from a stuffy higher-ed adminstrator type, it’s still an excellent read, and makes a powerful, balanced case for the use of virtual worlds.
Ok, so there are a few of my favorites. How about you? Let us know - post a comment!
Best,
Kevin Jarrett
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Resources:
Burks, M. (2008, July 24). School, virtually. Retrieved August 7, 2008, from http://www.sdcitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/school_virtually/7126/.
Czarnecki , K., & Gullet, M. (2001, January 2). Meet the New You - 1/1/2007 - School Library Journal. Retrieved August 7, 2008, from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6403251.html.
Kalning, K. (2007, March 12). If Second Life isn’t a game, what is it? - On the Level - MSNBC.com. Retrieved August 7, 2008, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17538999/wid/11915829.
Written by KJ Hax (aka Kevin Jarrett)