Prior to June of this year, I believed that those who engaged in virtual worlds like Second Life or World of Warcraft were wasting their time. What good could come from living through an alternate reality that a person had created? And, more importantly, what kind of teacher would even think to provide opportunity for students to engage in such activity?
In June, I began this program and set up an account with Second Life. I enjoyed every moment of my time spent exploring the alternate reality opportunities. Not only did I enjoy perusing the creativity-filled world, I saw potential for the classroom. Within Second Life, students have the chance to become the person they want to be. I teach middle-schoolers, and I know that many of them choose not to be active in their learning because of low self-esteem; they do not want to draw attention to the awkwardness that plagues them. Students can become more active in learning and discussions, because their avatars provide a certain amount of anonymity. Even “students with disabilities can shed their earthbound limitations and communicate, create, and experience activities that might not be possible outside of the virtual environment that Second Life provides.” (Garetty & Thompson, 2009).
Participation in virtual worlds is something that many students would find fun and interesting. Students already consider virtual worlds worthy enough to spend their own time exploring why would that not transfer to the classroom? Second Life and other virtual worlds offer learning for students of all multiple intelligences. “Virtual world learning experiences are fun. Classes in virtual worlds offer opportunities for visualization, simulation, enhanced social networks, and shared learning experiences. Some people learn best by listening to the course content, others by seeing and visualizing the content in context, and the rest by using a hands-on approach to demonstrate course competencies. In virtual worlds, we can leverage a mix of content and activity to support all learners: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Virtual worlds support these different learning styles and give children opportunities to explore, discover, and express their understanding of the subject.” (Kuznik, 2009).
Now, through this course, I have been exposed to the uses of Second Life for professional development purposes. I can become a part of a community who dialogues about teaching and how to better my own practices. This is an extremely powerful tool that should be taken advantage of for me personally and my students.
Garetty, C., Thompson, A. (2009). Second Life: A tool for teacher educators. Journal of Computing in Teacher Education, 25(4). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost. com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=41563171&site=ehost-live
Kuznik, L. (2009). Learning in virtual worlds. US-China education review, 6(9). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true& db=ehh &AN=44047741&site=ehost-live
No comments:
Post a Comment