Virtual World Tour 2008
Here is a great video providing a broad perspective on all types of virtual worlds. Well Done!Sharon Burns.
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Posted in: Second Life 3D worlds
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I had no idea there were so many virtual worlds! I love the idea Mokitown has for teaching children traffic safety. What a great way to get children involved in learning… a fun, interactive game. I’m sure the kids are more likely to retain what they have learned through the game than they if they had been lectured at school. There are so many topics that could be be converted into online training courses for kids such as the dangers of talking to strangers (which could apply to online chat rooms), fire safety, how to recognize poisonous substances, declining drugs…the list could go on forever. The children would not only be learning important safety lessons but acquiring valuable computers skills as well. Great video!
First, I would like to say “WOW!” I really had no idea that there were so many virtual gaming sites out there. This definitely makes me wonder what my students are doing in their spare time online. As for using these environments for teaching, I think that there could be some great benefits inluding connecting to other classrooms around the world, individualized learning and tutorials, and more. There are so many possibilities that can be done on this type of environment because it is soley online. My only concern for implementation is the restricted access that some of these online environments have with age. As an instructor, you are (typically) older than your students. In order to teach, you may wish to be in the same environment and/or create an environment within these sites where you could have a guest speaker or something. Is there a way around this that also allows you to keep things safe for the students?
I think that the ability to create a real world technical scenario like a hospital is a very good for training. In education, the ability to create 3D replicas of technical environments can expose students to career environments without the schools having to endure the expense of purchasing equipment and texts. Im my area of Technology Education, a parallel would be using a 3D world to create a virtual machine shop for students to learn metalworking without having to purchase costly equipment. Also, it would create a much safer learning environment.
Karl,
Thanks for the link and positive comments. As an educator and lecturer, I appreciate your feedback.
It has been a blast exploring virtual worlds, though extremely time consuming. When I realize how much time it took to learn and explore these new sites, I knew my colleagues and friends would need some help understanding these vast spaces. So, close to 300 hours later, I had an 8 minute video.
Again, thanks for the post. Sharon