Second Life
There are many real life historical locations in Second Life. Students could research the historical events that happened in some of these important cities and then design a tour around that location. Students would be required to work together to decide what events are important and write a breif summaries about each stop on their tour. This collaboration is important because as Dr. Orey writes cooloaboration, "helps students clarify concepts and ideas through discussion and debate," (Orey 2001). This would give students a first had experience in a location that they cannot physically go and by working together they can enhance their understanding. I would be a little concerned with the possible interactions that students might have with other people in the second life realm but the possiblities available deffinetly warrent a deeper look into Second Life.
Voice Thread
While watching the video on Voice Thread I got exceted when the teacher in the video said Voice Thread allows her to know what her students are thinking (Laureate Education, Inc, 2010b). This will be extreamly helpful to me and I am thinking about how I can design an assessment using Voice Thread to see what my students are thinking. In addition to this, Voice Thread has the capability to allow comments on published projects. Once students create a project I would require them to respond to three other students' work so that students could start a discussion about the matterial. Dr. Orey says that these discutions students have about content help them to clarify their understandings and correct their misconceptions (Laureate Education, Inc, 2010a).
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). Program eight. Social learning theories [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b). Program ten. Spotlight on technology: VoiceThread [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology.
Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page
Nick T.,
ReplyDeleteI too have spent some time looking into Second Life and researching its relevance in today's social classroom. Like you, I have a fear regarding some of the interactions that your students may have with some of the other people who also are playing the game at that time. While Second Life does take some measures to attempt to prevent users from entering into some of those questionable situations, there is still the potential threat that abounds. In my exploring of the site, I have been able to see some of those historic areas of which you speak. If used properly, using this site could be along the same lines as a virtual field trip, in which students are able to explore an area or event in history beyond the textbook. Social interactions is the heart of this program. Experiences and areas are created by the users, who in this case are your students. They would be able to intereact with one another and create virtual artifacts that reflect what they have learned.
-Nick Z.
Ahhh, this is such a good discussion to see. I too have been interested in SL for quite some time, but fear the open world may be a bit risky for students, depending on their level and what type of administration/parent support you have for the project. SL does offer a teen grid for educators, but I don't remember if it is free or not, but that may be an option. Recently we have dabbled in professional development opportunities for teachers using SL. So far it has been challenging but the potential is huge. Are you having this discussion elsewhere? I would love to discuss how teachers are using SL with educators more.
ReplyDeleteI am also excited about using voicethreads to really find out what my students are thinking. Because I am unable to observe all that is going on within each cooperative group, I see the voice thread as an excellent way to have insight into the minds and learning of all the students in the group!
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