Comments on: New Tools “Second Life: K-20 Educators Exploring Virtual Worlds – Panel”

By: Frank

Frank — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 02:32:39 +0000

Absolutely wonderful, folks! Does anyone here see a limit to this technology?

I couldn’t be more convinced that the assembly-line model of education handed down from John Dewey (and in fairness, it was relevant back then) is bankrupt.

There are so many factors militating against it that it’s getting harder to identify an element where it’s got it right.

Synchronous? High school classes beginning at 7:30AM? Heterogeneous grouping? Homogeneous grouping? Passing bells? Fixed curriculum? Grade levels, standardized testing and NCLB?

Sure, there are vestiges of validity, but most students given a choice of sitting in class or alternative learning models rarely take too long to make up their minds.

Unimpressed with on-line learning that derives as directly from the standard model as possible? Think you’ve seen a superior option?

I do…

Frank

By: Elaine Plybon / Celestia Cazalet

Elaine Plybon / Celestia Cazalet — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:09:12 +0000

Great presentation in an innovative format!

By: Lucy Miller-Ganfield

Lucy Miller-Ganfield — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 03:29:13 +0000

Outstanding presentation everyone! I tried Second Life about a year ago and was a bit confused of what to do, where to go, and how to use it for educational purposes. However, your presentation provided me with a better understanding of the learning resources, and opportunities available for professional collaboration.

I provided a voice thread but I am not sure it recorded.

By: Kevin Jarrett

Kevin Jarrett — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:15:14 +0000

This is great! So exciting! Woot!

Please note: Sylvia and I would like to encourage everyone to use the original, live, dynamic version of this presentation:

http://voicethread.com/share/8878/

Mostly because the whole point of Voicethread is to have a conversation – that means we want to hear from YOU!

It’s so easy to comment via text or audio; all you need is a free Voicethread.com account (the PRO version is FREE for K-12 educators!) That way, you can really experience this presentation to its fullest.

We want to thank the K12Online folks for preparing the iPod-ready version, which is great, especially when/if the Voicethread service is slow or unavailable. Perhaps we could re-record another one in the future after more people have had a chance to join the conversation!

Thanks again – hope you enjoy the presentation – and we will see you in Second Life! My avatar is KJ Hax, Sylvia’s is Kay Idziak.

Have a great conference,

-kj-