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.

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 invited by my fellow colleagues to a sort of how to use SL (I will use initials.) So I downloaded the programme again and chose an avatar and gave myself a name (I will mention that later.)Editing ones appearance can take time to start with, I wanted to make mine similar to me as much as possible, well both my colleague and son thought it was me so that’s near enough. Before the actual field trip I met up with Rainey and Alyssa (these are my SL friends names I will mention who these people are at the end of the post.) Before I actually met up with them which took me all evening because I fell down a cliff lol, is getting accustomed to the SL tools and controls which can seem quite complex to start with. We had a mini shopping spree and oohh was that fun. By the time we had the field trip given by Lynn who was great, I had been shopping quite a lot, but the controls played havoc with me to start with, and seeing as I use a mac I had to come to terms with that. But things got better and I suddenly saw the light, that’s why I chose Patience as my SL name, you can choose any first name you wish but the surname can only be chosen from the drop down menu SL offers you, so Patience Meiler was born on the 9th July 2009.

So what is Second Life?

Second Life (SL) is a virtual world developed by Linden Lab that launched on June 23, 2003 and is accessible via the Internet. A free client program called the Second Life Viewer enables its users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars. Residents can explore, meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services with one another, or travel throughout the world, which residents refer to as the grid. Second Life is for people aged 18 and over, while Teen Second Life is for people aged 13 to 17.

Built into the software is a three dimensional modeling tool based around simple geometric shapes that allows a resident to build virtual objects. This can be used in combination with the Linden Scripting Language which can be used to add functionality to objects. More complex three dimensional Sculpted prims (colloquially known as sculpties), textures for clothing or other objects, and animations and gestures can be created using external software. The Second Life Terms of Service ensure that users retain copyright for any content they create, and the server and client provide simple digital rights management functions.

My adventures on Second Life have begun…

Recent trip to London…

I am being patriotic here…

Just checking the time…

Second Life may not appeal to all, it does have its negative areas too which are audio problems, screen freezing and various other lags etc. but hey I didn’t call myself Patience for nothing. Another aspect I can foresee happening after the initial exploring, shopping etc., is  asking yourself now what? Well from a teachers point of view here’s where it gets very interesting. Visual based learning can be very effective for students, lets look at it this way, for a student meeting their teacher (via your SL avatar) in a bar, at the beach, at the market and this could  be anywhere in the world considering the vast amount of locations to choose from is never ending so students are learning in a fun based virtual atmosphere.

These are just some of my initial views about Second Life and I hope it’s given an insight to those of you who have had no clue of how it can actually be used. If you are a teacher out there and have been viewing my  Second Life Adventures via Twitter and would like to meet up please let me know. If you are a student already using SL and interested in learning English via it, watch this space! Do you love or hate SL, why, why not? See you on the next adventure…

I would like to thank above all Lynn=@barbsaka for her guidance and sharing, Rainey=@ShellTerrell for her friendship and that infectious giggle, Caliburn=@caliburnsusanto for allowing us to use his property, and my other Second Life friends, Alyssa=@burcuakyol Marisolde=@Marisa_C and Caoilainn=@spkspanglish

Source Second Life Wikipedia Twitter