Activity #9 Virtual Worlds

Well, well, well - this opens a WHOLE NEW WORLD. I find myself asking "are my students on Second Life?" and "Why is the world of Virtual Avators so attractive?" and "Do I NEED to join this?" and then I hear myself say; "NO MORE TIME WASTING!" only to think "Well it might be fun to think about who I might like to be and do and wear" and then I think "Who am I? Is it ethical? What happens to my identity? Why do I want to become a virtual character?" and the questions keep coming.

The focus on WHO AM I? in this day and age is a big question for our students. The Biblical implications are overwhelming too for those who are trying to work out who they are. If there are 100 touch receptors in each fingertip and this form of second life is relying on the sense of touch then cyber space doesn't offer me enough in the sensory realm.
I mean the likes of online "virtualness" for me have been limited to Farmville and Farm Town. Infact I still like to visit my farm on Farmville quite regularly!

I think it is instinctual to decorate your surroundings, but is online WoW and Second Life too much for the purposes of education. A study has found that 75% of learning occurs through visual stimulus while 13% occurs through hearing and touching. Smell and taste count for 12%. I think this is a significant thing! Did you know there are 16,000 hair cells or sound receptors in a human cochlea?

Now info island does interest me and maybe this alone will attract me onto Second Life! And Exit Reality might even make learning for some of our students even more fun. Traditional schooling can be isolating maybe these online virtual worlds offer our 21st century learners a place to connect in a new and different way? If schools are social institutions then are we just helping them prepare for the future? WOW!

It takes a village to educate a child - African proverb