Alright, so round two of Second Life, and I'm still a little unsure if I'm for it, or not! Maybe it was the graphics that threw me off, but I dunno! I am still a little uneasy about letting my students explore using this virtual world. I like the idea of a Teen Second Life, so that my students don't do things that adults can do in the older version (which I'm a little iffy about).
The things I do like: I do like the fact that my students can go on it and explore different places around the world, without actually being there physically. This would allow student's to see places they would normally not get too. I also like the fact that they can go sit through different presentations, PowerPoints, etc.
The things I don't like: My student's can be going into this virtual world, and talking to another avatar, who are totally lying about their identity. I don't want to be putting my students in dangerous situations. Another thing I don't like is the fact that I could be setting them up to become addicted to this program. Many kids have addictive personalities, and I don't want them to be spending all their time using this program. I don't want them going home and going straight to the computer to explore this world. I would rather them go out in real life and explore it themselves.
I am sure Second Life would be a program that my students would like, so maybe one day, I should take the extra time and explore it to find out about security settings.
As for Go2web20.net ... Ahh .. is it ever overwhelming! It would take me forever to go through all those pages, as I do find it terrifying and frusterating! This is something I plan to look through before going into my student teaching placement.
I apologize for all my paragraphs being jammed together! It won't let me add spaces!
Hey Cote,
ReplyDeleteI'm still unsure of second life. I think that it doesn't really apply to school life, and just provides students with another distraction in school. I think that if it was monitored correctly and protected the students that it could be useful. But until that happens, I'm still unsure of it.
Hey Cotz I think its tough for a teacher to trust this program before they actually get a chance to see the educational benefits for it. I have actually explored second life and honestly there are some really useful things that could be used for educational purposes. I understand your concerns but i think if you had some time to check it out you'd be able to discover how you could use it in your class and how to set limitations on the program so students do not go into negative programs. ! Stay Classy haha jacked!!!
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