Thing #10 Virtual Worlds

No problem creating an avatar and downloading the software, but doing anything beyond walking around, bumping into things, and flying with abandon was beyond me once I was in SL. When my oldest (in Chicago) heard I was taking a spin in SL, she immediately made a date to meet me and help. What fun! The minute she saw me online, she decided we needed to go shopping so I wouldn't be a clone of so many other first timers. Off to Calico Kitty for hair and Pink Boutique for clothes. Then she helped me teleport to Sunshine Therapy Garden... a "Calgon, take me away!" scenario...butterflies, soft music, waterfalls... Good Karma City. Next we went to the Music Academy and caught a hot air balloon ride. I stood up just after take off and promptly fell out. Back in again, we floated over several periods of history like the Medieval period, Renaissance, etc. Interesting, but it's all rated "mature," so I can't see going there with kids. Went back to a beach scene in the Sunshine Therapy Garden, took a photo for the memories, and told her goodbye.

Had 1 1/2 hours really gone by in this time?! The experience was certainly worth the effort, and I almost felt like I had gone on a micro-mini vacation with my daughter, which was a weird, but fun feeling. A major drawback to the whole experience was the number of times I got a "Second Life (not responding)" message and had to close and login again. It happened a number of times before I realized that if I didn't try to change my appearance or get into my inventory, it happened a lot less. The good part of that problem is if you do freeze, the program will put you back exactly where you were before the freeze happens.

Lots and lots and lots of practice would have to occur before I would even think about presenting this to anyone, much less students. I would guess that using Teen SL might be a safer avenue in an educational setting because of the restrictions already in place. I'm glad to have experienced this program, but I can't see finding the time to become a proficient player. I will be interested in reading other blog posts about others' experiences and impressions of SL as an educational tool.

Thing #6 Mashups and 3rd Party Sites

The possibilities for using fd’s Flickr Toys are endless. Here are a few ideas:

Science trading card, using Trading Card, with picture of insect/animal and interesting facts about insect/animal
Language Arts trading card with picture or Avatar of main character and character traits
Social studies mosaic, using Mosaic Maker, of famous person including birthplace, family, why person is famous or mosaic of a state with pictures of state symbols and/or landmarks
Badge Maker could be used to make press badges for interviewers to wear while video taping an interview; voting badges for Bluebonnet readers eligible to vote for their favorite book
Jigsaw might be used for making a jigsaw puzzle using the classroom group picture
Magazine Cover could be used for making covers of a story's main character, someone in history, or a student’s picture which would include titles of articles pertinent to that person
Motivator could be used by a school student council for making posters to motivate students to participate in school-sponsored activities and/or volunteer programs
Students could use CD/DVD Cover to make personalized covers for the CD/DVD case after their project had been burned to a CD or DVD.