I've had some trouble logging in. I think it has to do with the SBVPN connection. Like facebook, you cannot access this website being connected through the district's intranet. That would have been nice to know.
So, I'm in and this is the weirdest thing I've ever done!
In the classroom, I would NOT have use for this. I read a lot of bad words, got drunk (well the avatar did) and saw naked avatars. So, what makes this different from porn? I don't think that a 7 / 8 year old needs exposure and would gain anything from this virtual world. In fact, I need to DELETE it off of my teacher computer so that they will not access it by accident! I can only imagine the static I would get from the parents in my community... Also, I felt like I was "cheating" on my husband. Especially when other avatars approached me.
Honestly, how can this be used in education? I think it would seriously have to be on a High School level... being monitored, of course! As far as motivation - I do not see that my students need this type of stimulation to be motivated. They were simply motivated intrinsically.
2 comments:
playnoromous is getting into some second life stuff...we'll have to keep our eyes out...second life is fun..we just have to look for appropriate things...and set timers...I get lost and spend too much time!
I agree that second life programs do need to be carefully screened, but there are quite a few second life games out there that are very popular with students at least as young as middle school and I would bet younger as well. I think it is a good experience for us as educators to get a feel for what it is all about. Most of our middle school students play a second life game that has a variety of "worlds" and they select their domain from middle ages to futuristic and mainly go throughout those worlds building cities, gathering supplies, and occasionally fighting other players (math and economics skills). The one I've seen is not particularly violent, but it does allow them to collaborate in these other worlds. While you do have to be very selective in what you allow to be used, I can see some times where these might be useful. It may just be possible that in the not so distant future we may need to become those second life avitars and actually conduct our lessons in this second life.
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