Unbelievable! A new site has been just created for Teachers and English learners based on the Second Life concept and environment. The designers of this site give away free classroom space in Second Life, named "launchrooms" where teachers can hold group meetings and lessons. It means with this site teachers can get closer to the world of digital natives, they will create their own avatars, arrange a space for their meetings, and will use the virtual equitpment. What is also neat is this space is connected to the Caroline LMS (Learning management system similar to Moodle with the same functions - it will allow to arrange meetings, post assignments, create activities outside the real classroom, etc.). Cant's wait to try it out. Read the article "Do you speak SLEnglish?" and explore it yourself!
3 comments:
I spent the last hour creating an account, downloading the software, and creating my Second Life avatar. It was not user friendly. However, once created I was able to join a virtual community. It was very strange to see the world come to life, especially when the avatars were not dressed. That was very shocking to me. Yes, the environment and the avatars eventually became "dressed."
In spite of this, I love the idea of a virtual classroom with avatars. The avatars personalize the online learning experience in contrast to sites such as Tapped In or Elluminate. I anxiously await to participate in the Second Life English Community!
I am sorry this post appeared earlier but I deleted it because there was an error in my comment
I took my a long time to to access the site and to create a profile and download the software. The concept is interesting I must admit. I'm trying to wrap my head around this idea of virtual classrooms and learning environments. No doubt that they are the way of the future, but it's still a somewhat foreign concept to me. I guess I need to accept the technology and get on the train. I need to spend more time with the technology.
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