Second Life: Baptiste Breguet Goes to School!

I've been on SecondLife for about two years now and seen it's many ups and downs. I've built houses, changed my avatar's skin, body type, even clothing. He's learned how to play the piano, ballroom dance, and even speak different languages. He can also turn into a cat. These are all things I've never been able to do ... yet, at least. ;-)

I have never, however, used SecondLife for educational purposes. 

On SecondLife, I've been known as Baptist Breguet. While I have always considered SecondLife as a learning experience, I've never considered it a learning experience like in a typical classroom.

I've done a lot of reading about this subject as of late - when I saw the original assignment, I had to swallow a grain of salt and realize that I'm not the smartest person in the world. 

SecondLife is cool - don't get me wrong. I've just recently come to despise it once its grid became the Windlight grid - it slowed everything down, and I shuttered my house building business that had become somewhat profitable.

I digress - I found a great article that spoke to me in one simple sentence - "Virtually all college students have had experience with games. Games represent active, immersive learning environments where users integrate information to solve a problem."  This is such a great thing to say - and a brilliant analogy. I've said it on many discussion boards - learning CAN and SHOULD be fun! SecondLife certainly crosses this bridge. Plus, putting a classroom behind a locked door in a building can make it great for an uninterrupted lesson - and even more "lifelike" if the participants have microphones.

SecondLife could (and I use that word cautiously) be the wave of the future in education - but they really need to work out all the connectivity issues and slowness to ensure that happens.

Classroom 2.0 - You Live Where?

"Geography is irrelevant, learning is not." 

Clarence Fisher, presented "Classroom 2.0 or You Live Where?" made this remark during the 2008 K12 online conference, and truer words in relation to the web and it's impact upon education could not be spoken!

While education (and even the classroom itself!) used to be about preparing kids to work where they live, things changed dramatically when the classroom shook hands with the Internet and the world wide web.

Recently, I was discussing the impact that Web 2.0 has had on education - and how many teachers, while recognizing it's "cool factor," can rarely successfully integrate that factor into their classrooms. Fisher presents not only how to do this, but why it is truly relevant to today's world. (And, being a man of his word, the entire presentation is available online - in a handy dandy iPod format! )

To me, the most relevant thing Fisher said during this lecture - and the most simple, really - was that we, as educators,  have to stop telling students to regurgitate information, and instead encourage them to be creative and think. We need to examine our pedagogy.

He's not saying to not teach the curriculum, but our relationship to that curriculum needs to be constantly examined and it's true value determined. And moreso, understand that our world went from being just what we can see in the classroom to being world-wide. Our students have many open doors - using Classroom 2.0 to help show them those doors is the educator's newest challenge.

Twitter - It Can Actually Be Useful!

So I'll admit, I got on the Twitter bandwagon quite awhile ago, and got pretty tired of the constant updates (and updating!) so I just kind of let my account go to the wayside. In short - I found it interesting, but not interesting enough to keep up with on a regular basis.

First, I suppose I should explain exactly what Twitter is. Basically, Twitter is kind of like MySpace, kind of like Blogger, and kind of like del.icio.us. Confused? Think of it as a social networking site where you can keep up with your friends or professional contacts and a short information blip that they can post as often as they'd like. A sentence here, a new sentence five minutes later ... you get the picture.

So, with all that in mind, I will admit that I was wrong about Twitter. I don't hate it. I actually see it's positive uses - at least in a classroom setting. Socially, I still think it's kind of like the annoying child tugging on his mother's dress when she's on an especially long phone call - annoying, but not punish-worthy.

In particular, I found two Twitterers that had websites that I find valuable - and I'll keep checking their Twitters to see when these sites are updated. The first Twitterer - TechJulia - writes the TechJulia Blog. It's newish, fresh, and something that I can see myself professionally emulating in my current position at my job.

Secondly, Education is another Twitterer that I will definitely follow! This person's blog - The Internet Writing Journal - will certainly be one that I check back on as often as possible.

So, Twitter ... you've won this round. You've got my attention ... at least for a bit longer. ;-)

Writing Good Content

So frequently, my web editors at Fontbonne will ask me "What makes good web content?"

While this is a legitimate question, one could easily retort, "What's the meaning of life?" "Why is the sky blue?" or "Why do good things happen to bad people?" (That last one was an intentional juxtaposition, btw.)

Content, it would seem, varies on the message. Sometimes, one needs to convey a complicated message, hence, more interesting, dynamic copy. Often, however, a short message or idea should be conveyed ... well ... shortly.

I stumbled across a great slideshow on SlideShare today. (Check it out here if you can't see the video below.)

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Next, we have the *very* energetic Sage Lewis discussing the same topic - tips for good web writing. Don't let Sage's boisterous attitude or excitement about the topic scare you off - this is a good, succinct resource. He and his partner, Rocky, know their stuff - and it's short, sweet, and right to the point. (Check out the video if the embed isn't working on your computer.)

Making Life Easier

So I've recently stumbled across some sites/programs/technologies/God-sends - call them what you will - that have the potential to make one's professional (and frankly, personal!) life a bit easier.

That's what technology is really all about, right?

In the spirit of being upfront, I have to confess - I love all things Google. It's search engine is by far my favorite search engine on the web, I've been a G-Mail user since it's first weeks in beta-testing, and I have long been completely enamored of Google Earth, which shows an earth view from space. So really, it's no major surprise that when I saw Google Notebook, it was love at first sight. (Just for fun, a neat video that highlights some funny/strange things found on Google Earth.)

Let me explain this new love affair - Google Notebook makes your life easier. It's that simple. In short, this really fantastic tool (pictured with this entry) basically helps you keep notes online (including links, photos, etc.), organize them, and should choose, share them with others. Best of all, there's a neat little download that you can use to add Google Notebook features to your main web browser and integrate it into your daily life. I know I will!

Also, somewhat like a wiki, users can even share notebooks among groups, and allow other group members to add or subtract information from a group notebook. Users can create headers, and even easily move information from one section to another with the click of a button. Honestly, and again, I'm biased (but not stupid, or easily impressed!) I found nothing wrong with this tool - I really liked it, and will certainly use it a great deal in my personal and professional life. (I can't wait to start building my recipe book online!)

Alright - the gushing will cease. At least temporarily.

The next organizational application I check out was Stu.dicio.us. Honestly, I chose this because it's name was so similar to de.licio.us that I figured it must be good. Sad - I went to Stu.dicio.us' site - and it's currently down and preparing for beta testing.

I moved on to Backpackit. Okay, in short, Backpackit offered many of the same features of Google Notebook - that said, I found it a bit "less natural" to use. I had to read a bit of the help files and instructions to really dig into Backpackit - so one strike already. On a positive note, it offered group calendar organization, which I loved, and a fun task-list looking organizational style that I found pretty visually appealing. I like both tools, but I'm still a bigger fan of Notebook.

Use one of these tools - please! They'll ... well ... make your life easier.

Technology in Education

Technology fits with education like a hand in a glove!

Recently, I've had a good bit of fun using social bookmarking, particularly on del.icio.us. This is awesome - it allows anyone to view websites that I have selected are relevant to me.

It's so strange to me that in so many settings teachers are afraid of technology - the Guardian, a British newspaper - had a great piece about this very issue on it's blog recently. (Check it out!) One would think that instructors would understand that technology will not replace them, nor will it make their jobs more difficult - quite the opposite.

Teachers should wholeheartedly embrace technology! Students will easily embrace technology - which they're more than likely already using recreationally - as a major learning tool.

Blogs, in particular, are a casual, yet structured way for an instructor to communicate to a large group of students, and encourage them to discuss topics casually in the comments sections of such blogs.