Week 4 - Blog Posting #7 -Second Life

YouTube video by: bourgery posted: April 20, 2007 on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flkgNn50k14

I have to admit that Second Life has been a resource I haven’t used. I have wanted to use it, but have found it challenging for many different reasons. One, all of the time involved to learn about each environment. I find myself walking around enjoying the scenery, yet not getting a lot out of it because I don’t have hours to practice and learn how to learn.?.

I have wanted to use SL in my classroom for some time, yet I have K-3rd grades and they do not qualify for teen SL therefore the risk involved is too much for my administration to give me the go-ahead. So, two, SL is an adult environment…I want to create a children’s museum in the adult SL because I know the adults would love it and my students would love to create it.

I also want to take my students on virtual field trips because our school system doesn’t have the dough to let us go to a “real” museum. SL solves this for me; yet the risk of inappropriate behavior is great. I have been virtually groped myself and I only go onto SL occasionally. I think I am just going to ScreenFlow my SL visit and show it to my kids in that fashion.

Overall I love the concept and opportunities SL makes available. I have joined 3 groups and am excited to start collaboration: ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), IAEA (International Art Education Association), and Yo Jimbo School of SL Skills and Art.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island/92/109/23 (ISTE)

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dace/113/249/319 (IAEA)

These groups will help me to know how to create within SL (Jimbo), stay up to date within the world of Art Education (IAEA), and continue to integrate the most up-to-date technologies into my classroom via ISTE.

If you have any advice for me to integrate SL into a K-3rd classroom I would really appreciate the comment. Thanks Hilary

Research:

The Art world at SL
http://www.artcalendar.com/article.asp?ID=193

A paper written on the benefits of allowing SL in high school Education
http://www.trinity.edu/adelwich/worlds/articles/trinity.manny.alvarez.pdf

Museum 2.0 Virtual Art-The concept of it
http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2007/07/jumping-into-art-in-second-life.html

Virtual Art
http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/artnetnews/artnetnews1-23-07.asp

Second Life Art News
http://sl-art-news.blogspot.com/

Top 10 Art Installations in SL
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/08/top-10-art-inst.html