Virtual learning is a topic that until now I have not considered in any depth. This week I did not mind crusing around SCU Island, however was shocked at the end of the lesson when told that Second Life is banned in a lot of secondary schools in Australia. This got me thinking once again about privacy issues. I am confused as to why we looked at Second Life as opposed to Open Sim, which the Northern Beaches Christian School uses and is apparently more appropriate for use in schools? It was interesting to learn that in the market place in Second Life you could buy a number of things, including guns.
It was also mentioned at the end of the lesson that there is a Globe Theatre in Second Life you can visit, in which you can cruise around, dress up and perform plays. This would be particularly great for teaching Shakespeare! One major issue I have incorporating virtual worlds into the classroom is the time it would take to set up and actually get students all online and working at the same time. It took our university class almost half an hour to get everybody logged in, just imagine thirty 12 year olds in the same situation....
Another issue that has not been addressed is parents apprehension about their children using Virtual Worlds and other programs such as Facebook, Twitter and World of Warcraft. On prac. many students discussed facebook, however, other students were quite open about the fact they did not have facebook, as their parents did not allow it.
I am not completely against using Virtual Worlds as a way of teaching, however would be interested to see how it has been used, or could be used in an English classroom, and the students responses.
Hi Bree
ReplyDeleteI did not realise that it had been banned in some schools, that makes me even more hesitant to use it in my classroom. I don't think you could consider undertaking such a task without parent permission. Like you, I would like to talk to someone who had used virtual worlds in their classroom and see some of the lessons that were effective. I think time would be the biggest problem with this as like you said it took so long for our class to get established let alone teenagers.
Heather
Hi Bree,
ReplyDeleteI would also like to see some of this put into action. I am very unsure about the use of virtual worlds and how I would use it in my classroom. I am willing to find out and would, like you be interested to see how students respond.
I also discussed parents and caregivers responses to using these programs in schools in my blog. I believe that unless it was set up perfectly and used in a very careful manner (avoiding any types of distraction or bullying), some parents would object to it.
I am glad I’m not the only person who is unsure and is questioning this form of technology and its validity in the classroom without viewing it at a successful working level.
Jess :)
Hi Bree,
ReplyDeleteAs with Heather, I didn't know second life had been banned in some schools. I can see why however. You mentioned that Open Sim was possibly a more appropriate program for schools. As I said in my blog post, the example of this program was very appealing to me, more so than Second Life. I really liked the video in the online material. I found it really opened my eyes as to how a program like this could enhance certain skills within a student. I also think however, time could be a hindrance!
I am surprised that I never really thought about students needing parental permission to participate in these online activities, but it makes much sense. I am a private singing teacher and a lot of my high school aged students do not have facebook/twitter accounts as their parents do not allow them to. This is a very real concern for teachers wanting to incorporate these sorts of websites into their lessons.
Hi Bree
ReplyDeleteI am not aware that Second Life is banned in schools. It does require that students be over 13 and it requires getting through the local firewall (we had to do this at Uni as well). As I mentioned in the lecture schools are using, and the DET is developing, Open Sim environments that are 3D virtual environments similar to SL. I would also suggest to you that students don't do all their learning at school and many would be able to access SL at home especially the Stage 5/6 students.