TEACHING ON SECOND LIFE (PART 2)

It’s been a while now since my last post, no I am not lazy but I have had plenty to do. As I promised a follow up to my first post here is the second. I was waiting for feedback from my students but they have been busy too so it hasn’t been possible apart from feedback from one, if in the near future they have the time I will certainly add their comments on to the post as I’m sure it will be of interest.

Thierry says…

“Some weeks ago, my English teacher Aniya proposed me to have a lesson

on Second Life. I knew the latter by name but I never tried it.

I was very astonished by the tool and how it could be used for learning.

As a matter of fact, having lessons in this way is really amazing since

you have the ability to visualize things and to be in real cases and

situations. Aniya built a dedicated place for learning and knows all about

the uses of the tool. She guides you in its use and using the tool is

very easy. I think that this method is the future of language learning

and really innovative! Have a try!”

Since writing the first post I have been able to explore Second Life more. I have given lessons to a few students and this is my conclusion. Any students already taking online lessons will find this innovative, basically it gets you out of the virtual classroom and into a simulative almost ‘real’ environment where anything and everything goes. First time students find it quite hard to get to grips with all the various tools you need to use in Second Life, but having said that so do us teachers, so it’s quite a normal stage. This does force the student to understand new terms used in Second Life and understand basic explanations from their coach. Students can choose what and where to visit after a few lessons of understanding the basics. Having said that it is also a fun experience for students even though they might misunderstand what you are telling them to do. I was surprised by one of my students knowing so much vocabulary, and what she didn’t know remembered the next time as she had visualized it there, this is the key factor of visual based learning via Second life.  Business students can learn in a typical office environment and act out a more realistic role play. And/or lessons can be split into Second Life and virtual classroom lessons as a follow up.

Second Life is still quite unknown to a lot of people, and it is more than just a game, you need to be able to have the time to actually understand how it really works, and this helps if you have a guide and or coach. My colleague Shelly Terrell and myself will take teachers through the basics to get you on your way. We will also make you an avatar if you are short of time (see below). We co-own The Teacher’s Haven (see photos) which is situated on Norris Point The Norris point Estate is owned by Joy Canedeo who is a great landowner, she is Canadian and has based the land on Norris Point, which really exists.

Norris Point is a picturesqe Newfoundland coastal community located at the doorstep of Gros Morne National Park of Canada.

There are plenty of schools, universities on Second Life which both teachers and students can visit, what we offer is something different, we offer our friends, teachers and students the chance to come to a peaceful haven, get a coffee, have a picnic,  chat in the peaceful surroundings and even a massage for those suffering from stress ha ha there are other things to do too which you will discover when visiting. Regularly we have a meet up with other teachers and go out dancing or to Karaoke venues, you name it we do it! The social events are a way of getting used to Second Life in a relaxed atmosphere and learning how your avatar works, our outings are not short of fun, we are NOT traditional teachers, whatever that is supposed to mean. .

Here below we have the avatars of 2 teachers a colleague and a friend, who’s who?

These are amongst some of the avatars I have made, avatars take time to make and most people don’t want the default one they are given so as not to stand out in a crowd, if you are an educator and are interested in approaching Second Life leave a comment below.

Lastly unfortunately several of my friends and colleagues are unable to use Second Life because their computer  doesn’t meet the minimum requirements here is a reminder of what you actually need.

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Last week whilst eavesdropping on a Twitter conversation between @barbsaka and @ShellTerrell two fellow English Teachers, the word  ‘shopping’ springs to mind. I followed this link to twitpic. I joined SecondLife several years ago but was not taken by it at all and really couldn’t understand what all the hype was about. I was then [...]

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