Introduction

• stimulating learning while providing an authentic experience.
• allowing complex and realistic scenarios to be visualized.
• engaging students to actively participate in the virtual world rather than be a passive participant.

A good presentation of Second Life in 3600 seconds.

Introducing Second Life to K 12 Educators

Examples of educational virtual locations in SL

• Suffern Middle School in SL! - Suffern Middle School, a high-performing school in Suffern,NY with a presence in the Teen Grid area of Second Life. Suffern has maintained a private learning environment there since August 2006.
• Kidz connect – Kidz Connect offers a series of collaborative workshops for young people in multiple locations, teaching them to connect and work together via performance, storytelling and collaboration by theatrical and digital means. It is a project of Zoom Labs.
• The PacRimX islands – It is an intercultural exchange program between high school students in the Modesto City Schools in Modesto, California and students at their sister school in Kyoto, Japan, the Kyoto Gakuen High School that is part of the Pacific Rim Exchange program. Global kids - a New York-based nonprofit organization that teaches leadership, citizenship, and learning skills to urban youth that has a huge presence in SL.
• EdtechIsland – A place in SL that provides free resource for all teachers, graduate courses and workshops. It is offered by Boise State University. Watch a video describing the Edtech Island.
  
• A great presentation by Lisa Dawley about the growth of Edtech Island in SL.
• Introduction to second life and a tour of the virtual Texas State University campus.
  

Getting started in SL

In Education:

• Educational uses of Second life
• Second life and its educational possibilities
• Learning and Virtual Worlds
• Establishing an educational Presence in Second Life
• Education in Second Life - Eduscape
• Second life for Educators (pdf)
• Wiki for educators using TSL

Additional Resources

Organizations for Professional Development in SL

• International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) hosts events in SL twice weekly: a social event for educators to meet and network every Thursday at 6 PM SLT (that's US pacific time) and a weekly speaker series, along with additional chats and discussions on Tuesday evenings at 5 PM SLT.
• ISTE Eduverse Talks series is a talk show that highlights the work of innovative K-20 educators and leaders worldwide.
• Discovery Educators Network offers workshops and guest speaker lectures for educators. It meets on Wednesday nights at the DEN HQ at 5:00 PM SLT (8:00 PM EST).
• The Learning Experience(TLE) is a free University based in the Virtual World of SL which holds special weekly events for educators.

Extended Learning

References: