Comments on: 13 Tips for Virtual World Teaching http://www.sl-educationblog.org/?p=10 Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:47:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Antoine Hegeman http://www.sl-educationblog.org/?p=10#comment-26 Antoine Hegeman Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:30:30 +0000 http://www.sl-educationblog.org/?p=10#comment-26 Purpose Second Life (and other Virtual World applications) is a beautiful tool for learning. But the question educators should ask themselves is: “What purpose does the Virtual World serve?”. Does it make it easier for a teacher to teach, by him or her not having to leave their home? If so: how easy will it be for the teacher to keep an eye on all of the students? How do you check attendance in a virtual world? This is why I do not believe a virtual classroom where teacher and students meet is the best use of a tool like Second Life. Another example is the fact that an avatar does not have body language (yet). The way people move body and face tells us a lot about how they experience things. A (good) teacher can read from a students face if that student understands what he or she is teaching. Back to purpose. Purpose in this case would be shown in the material to be learned. I think the most powerful example of purpose can be found in teaching history. Here we have to rely on old pictures (if any exist) and written accounts. Second Life offers teachers the ability to show students what life in Rome was like during the rule of Ceasar. Or how horrific fighting in WWII was. By submerging students in a world they could never see in real life it could greatly increase their understanding of the teachers teachings. A picture says more then a thousand words. There are many more examples and ideas to be found within many more subjects (not just history). So my opinion is that a teacher should search for a good purpose to use Second Life as a teaching tool, before even considering to us it at all. Teachers should understand that it is easy to find purpose if he or she desires to. Be realistic. Do you just want to use Second Life? Or is your purpose just? The thirteen tips on Campus Technology also talk about making it fun, and so on. Leaning on ‘purpose’. I want to get across that I believe that teachers should think about the purpose before even setting foot in Second Life. Antoine Hegeman Student of Digital Communication, the Netherlands Purpose

Second Life (and other Virtual World applications) is a beautiful tool for learning. But the question educators should ask themselves is: “What purpose does the Virtual World serve?”.
Does it make it easier for a teacher to teach, by him or her not having to leave their home? If so: how easy will it be for the teacher to keep an eye on all of the students? How do you check attendance in a virtual world?
This is why I do not believe a virtual classroom where teacher and students meet is the best use of a tool like Second Life. Another example is the fact that an avatar does not have body language (yet). The way people move body and face tells us a lot about how they experience things. A (good) teacher can read from a students face if that student understands what he or she is teaching.

Back to purpose. Purpose in this case would be shown in the material to be learned.
I think the most powerful example of purpose can be found in teaching history. Here we have to rely on old pictures (if any exist) and written accounts. Second Life offers teachers the ability to show students what life in Rome was like during the rule of Ceasar. Or how horrific fighting in WWII was. By submerging students in a world they could never see in real life it could greatly increase their understanding of the teachers teachings. A picture says more then a thousand words.

There are many more examples and ideas to be found within many more subjects (not just history). So my opinion is that a teacher should search for a good purpose to use Second Life as a teaching tool, before even considering to us it at all.

Teachers should understand that it is easy to find purpose if he or she desires to.
Be realistic. Do you just want to use Second Life? Or is your purpose just?

The thirteen tips on Campus Technology also talk about making it fun, and so on. Leaning on ‘purpose’. I want to get across that I believe that teachers should think about the purpose before even setting foot in Second Life.

Antoine Hegeman
Student of Digital Communication, the Netherlands

]]> By: Peter Miller http://www.sl-educationblog.org/?p=10#comment-10 Peter Miller Sat, 12 Jan 2008 13:57:31 +0000 http://www.sl-educationblog.org/?p=10#comment-10 13 Keep Growing (lol) 13 Keep Growing (lol)

]]> By: Peter Miller http://www.sl-educationblog.org/?p=10#comment-9 Peter Miller Sat, 12 Jan 2008 13:48:05 +0000 http://www.sl-educationblog.org/?p=10#comment-9 Good list but was there a number 13 or did you just get superstitious? Good list but was there a number 13 or did you just get superstitious?

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