IDLA/IACON Pre-Conference

Attended some of the pre-conference for IACON/IDLA. Covered was Web 2.0 and Second Life. Coverage was somewhat basic, but some attendees seemed to be learning new things. There were a few spots in Second Life and a few people in Second Life that were interesting to see. Bowling Green University has an interesting build. And the concept of allowing students to work on projects in-world is exciting -- I'd like to see more of this.

Second Life for Administrators

This session was a bit too basic and not really geared toward administrators so much. It was really just an intro to SL. But they did have some advice for those who were considering buying an island (as we are).

1. Hire an Island manager
2. Hire an Island developer
   
3. Check out potential virtual locations that make sense (close to UI or ISU if they are in-world?)
4. Promote events (see #1)

We may be in for a wild ride with our entry into SL.

KQED on SL

This comes from Quest on the KQED.org site. A great introduction to Second Life and how distance educators are using it.



*it might take a bit to load since it's HD*

Second Life T-Shirt

I've been looking at Second Life again. I was curious to see how other colleges were represented in SL and what kinds of activities they are promoting. I'm also curious if colleges are using SL as a marketing tool and if so, how. Clothing seems to work in the real world, so it seems an obvious choice for SL as well. So, I made myself a Kirkwood t-shirt. If anyone wants a copy, we can arrange a time to meet in SL and I'll give you one.

I'm pictured here in China. A small boat of an island really, but it was happenin'. Got to "speak" some Chinese too.

Game Play

Here is one more entry for the eLearning conference. Gaming is still receiving its fair share of attention for its ability to motivate and engage the learner. There was a session on Second Life, which is technically not a game but more like a whole world. Educators are using this. There is a whole campus there with galleries and lectures. It's worth exploring.

I didn't attend that session though since I already know a bit about Second Life. But I did attend a student orientation game-model session. Presenters from Mercer Community College demonstrated a game-show style orientation for online learners. The software they are using (Game Show Presenter) is not free, but was inexpensive enough to make this possible on a shoestring budget. The orientation is currently delivered F2F, but the presenters will be exploring the online version of the tool in the near future (it was just released).

I recently found a template for Captivate that creates a Jeopardy style quiz/game. Might be fun as part of an online student orientation.