Second Life ™

Join us this Wednesday as Clio Jacobus (Jennifer Dorman - RL) presents ‘Get Your ‘Og On!’.

Blogs, Glogs and Vlogs – what the heck is an ‘og anyway?  Come join us as we get our ‘ogs on and learn about these simple
applications. At the end of this session you’ll learn how you can plant a little Web 2.0 widget code and grow it into a global
collaboration.

TIME:  5 p.m. SLT ( 7 p.m. CST, 8 p.m. EST)

A great time was had at the “Sharks after Dark” event co-hosted by DEN in SL and PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors in Second Life.

First everyone learned how to use their gear.  Groups of six were sent on automated, guided, informational shark dives. There was time to explore the expanded sim after the tour.  We swam with the sharks, surfed, hang glided and rode horses.

If you haven’t had a chance to experience this fabulous sim, head over to explore the reefs, the caves, the island and more at Dive World !

Don’t miss out out on this fantastic adventure to help celebrate Discovery Shark Week!  It will be held on Saturday, Aug 8th from 8 AM SLT - 10 AM SLT.

This past Wednesday we gathered by the sandbox to check out our dive gear. Those who register now, will need to inform us if they need dive gear.  You can still register for the event. Confirmation emails will be sent out with further instructions.

Only registered avatars will be able to attend.

Hi, I’m Telos String in SL and Mary Del Bianco in RL.  For what seems like forever, I have been an artist and an art teacher. This year I have given up my art teacher job to devote my time to technology. I will work with 6 - 8th graders twice a week in our computer lab and I will help other teachers integrate tech tools into their classrooms.  I am also working with a few after school programs because learning is definitely 24/7 and not all kids have the same chance to get connected. I am working to help improve that situation.  I am thrilled and anxious.  With my art background I am confident in my project-based learning strategy skills but with technology I always feel a little behind the curve. Kids always know more than me!  With Second Life DEN support though, I know I can keep up.  The best PD on the planet is happening in SL.  So I have offered my time and energy to keep the SL DEN active and at the head of the class.  I am willing to help newbies even tho I still consider myself one. I am willing to learn, to build, and to create.  I am a dedicated learner who believes that if we work together, we are better than any of us can be alone.  See you in-world at 2DP!

Hello from another new member of the DEN LC in Second Life.  My SL name is Valaina Shepherd.  I became a member of SL at NECC 2007 in Atlanta, GA.  I did not do much with it though until the following February when I met Riptide Furse (Fred D.) at the DE Virtual Conference in Silver Spring, MD.  He shared about the DEN in SL and his excitement was contagious.  Upon returning home, I tried SL again and understood what a fantastic Professional Development and networking tool it can be.  I attended as many newbie sessions as I could at the DEN in SL.  I found people who would help me when my hair went wacko, share places to find freebies, and answer my myriad of questions.  The Wed. night workshops filled a void for this lifetime learner and ignited a desire to share with other educators.  I became a guide for the DEN in SL where I met educators from all over the world.  In a way, being a guide was more of a learning experience for me than the people I helped.  I am looking forward to this next step in my learning journey.

In RL, my name is Valaina Maher and I am an ITRT (Instructional Technology Resource Teacher) at a K-5 public school in Manassas, VA.  After over 25 yrs of teaching in parochial schools with a Masters in Early Childhood, I decided to make a change.  I went back to school to get another Masters in Educational Technology Specialist.  Though it took me 4 years to get it, I graduated in 2006 and accepted the job in Virginia.  I am a perfect example of learning technology late in life, which comes in handy when working with the other teachers at my school.  No one can use the “I’m too old to learn new things” excuse.

I look forward to seeing you in Second Life.

Image by Sue Waters via Flickr

On Wednesday, July 8 we invited educators to come reflect and share their NECC 09 experiences. Below you will find snippets of the very active conversation. If any of these items trigger a response or you want add to any of the conversation, please leave a comment.

Valaina Shepherd: I will never travel back and forth to NECC again

Valaina Shepherd: missed too much night things
Valaina Shepherd: and too tired

Just to interrupt this I would have to agree. I got home every night after 11 and was out of the door the next morning by 6:30.

Valaina Shepherd: I loved the BYOL session on Google Earth

Laelia Laval: I liked that the BYOL had tickets….

Valaina Shepherd: me too
Laelia Laval: I knew I had my ‘reserved’ seat

Telos String: i LOVE glogster

Riptide Furse: http://www.glogster.com/edu

Thunder Insippo: NECC is dead long live ISTE

Valaina Shepherd: I got a lot from the poster and student showcase sessions

Telos String: i tried to use Peggy Sheehy’s after NECC and I could not find it

Beth Kohnke: ISTE Vision Link http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2009/glance/ISTEvision_network.php

Telos String: I am huge fan of ROCK Our World
Valaina Shepherd: I liked her presentation
Thunder Insippo: Gail Lovely’s was great

Thunder Insippo: http://glovely09.wetpaint.com/page/TopTen+for+Young+Learners

Thunder Insippo: I’m enjoying SimplyBox

Thunder Insippo: it goes into a box of your making for organizing
Thunder Insippo: the students click the pictures to open sites
Thunder Insippo: very cool
Valaina Shepherd: my Kindergarten teacher loved the Gail Lovely session
Telos String: Gail is very user=friendly in her presentations

Valaina Shepherd: I liked the Leslie Fisher Gadget presentation

Riptide Furse: I think BUMP was the big hit with iPhone users

Cyndi Uriza: Quest Atlantis last night at ISTE had a big crowd. they did a great job, too

Sholi Oh: Quest Atlantis is a great virtual world. we have it.
Thunder Insippo: I’m doing the training that begins July 14
Riptide Furse: Sholi what grades?
Cyndi Uriza: I’d like to do the training.
Sholi Oh: ages 8-14

Thunder Insippo: the training that begins (@sholi yes) July 14th is perfect for US time zones
Thunder Insippo: My gifted resource teacher is doing it with me
Telos String: I’d like a partner teacher, i work with 6-8thgraders

Sholi Oh: When we did the training last Oct. We found that Quest Atlantis (QA) is so much more than we expected.

Telos String: is this the right url http://atlantis.crlt.indiana.edu/
Riptide Furse: for the notes http://atlantis.crlt.indiana.edu/ or http://questatlantis.org both work

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Three trips, nine teachers, 36 students, and the adventure of a lifetime!  Two of the three pilot trips for Discovery Student Adventures have now concluded, and have we got some stories to tell!  From the Australian outback to the African bush, come see what happened to STAR Discovery Educators as they journeyed around the world and used technology to share their experiences in real time.  And then learn how you can begin your own Discovery Student Adventure! 

Join Demb Oh (Steve Dembo - RL) and others for a session entitled, ‘Pack Your Curiosity and GO!’

5 p.m. SLT (7 p.m. CST, 8 p.m. EST)

Hi all! Let me take this opportunity to introduce myself as one of the newest members of the Second Life Leadership Council, and tell you I am excited to be part of such a great group. Some of you have already met me in SL as Vita Demina.

I first became a “resident” of SL in February of 2007 after being intrigued by a presentation on the virtual world at the DEN pre-conference at PETE&C . As soon as the conference ended I was home creating my account, and ….promptly became a drop-out after being frustrated because I looked like a fox ( I don’t mean “foxy”, I mean a FOX, tail and all) and no matter what I did I couldn’t look like a girl! I finally got my act together when the DEN in SL had their official opening later in August, and with the assistance of the great people in the DEN and some other kind friends along the way, SL became a breeze. That is why in my work with DEN in SL as a DEN Guide since January of 2008, I have been interested in helping new residents feel comfortable. So in addition to being on the LC Events team, I hope to still work with anyone who has questions or needs help feeling comfortable in SL.

In real life I am Patti Ruffing, and I have taught in a K-8 Catholic school for most of my teaching years (let’s just say ever so much more than 20). Though I have taught the gamut from science to music to Spanish, I am beginning my tenth year as tech coordinator, technology teacher, and network and website administrator for my school in eastern Pennsylvania. The professional learning network I have established being part of the Discovery Educator Network has helped my knowledge grow by leaps and bounds over these past two years. DEN in real life is an awesome resource and that resource extends right into the virtual world with the sharing that takes place among educators here.

Although it seems to be an easier road today starting out new in Second Life, there is still an awkward phase at the beginning. I look forward to helping anyone get over the bumps and enjoy smooth sailing (and shopping and building). Please IM anytime if I can help you, one on one or in a small group. Or look for me on weekends at 2 DP in my capacity as guide. And don’t forget to check the board for our events, especially the Newbie workshops if you are a new resident. Once here, a whole new world of learning awaits.

Yesterday’s workshop presented by Augustine Writer was extremely colorful!  Green colorful that is!  The focus was on tips to make your technology ‘go green’.

Tip #1 - Try using Blackle instead of Google for your search.   Seems that the black background requires less power than a white background.  (Hmmmmm, wonder if that applies to PowerPoints as well?)  And while you’re exploring Blackle, check out their games.

Tip #2 - P-essays.  Don’t worry, when that name popped up on the screen I was clueless as well! LOL  They are actualy public service announcements in digital storytelling form.

Tip #3 - Got a great idea?  Use MediaShare at Discovery Education Network to get the word out.  No need to send your great idea to the copy & distribution center!

Tip #4 -  Have your students use Glogster (the education version) to show off their projects (and leave the construction paper in the closet!).

Tip #5 -  DE Streaming – check out the ThinkGreen Writing Prompt and the Greensburg clips.  If you’re not familiar with Greensburg (I wasn’t before last night), it’s about Greensburg, KS and what happened when the town rebuilt itself using green practices.

Tip #6 -  Use Google Earth to create tours that show green locations, you can also search through the layers in the ‘Global Awareness’ section – where you’ll find layers from Arkive, Jane Goodall, etc.  all already created for you.

Tip #7 -  www.thinkgreen.com/classroom - partnership between waste management and Discovery Education; you can find lesson plans, with activities, extension activities, etc.  LOADS of content to peruse; it also has virtual labs.  (They also have a widget you can throw into a blog/wiki……you really need to take a look at the widget as it translates how much you’ve saved and what you can now do with the saved energy).

Tip #8 -  Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge; national sustainability challenge; this year it’s elementary and middle school students.  Next year high school will be added; get teams of 2/3 students work on a project to help change their environment locally.

Tip #9 - Apply for funds at DonorsChoose.   It appears that if your ‘wish’ has a ‘go green’ component it’s a BIG PLUS when applying for funding.

Tip #10 - MediaShare, MediaShare, MediaShare — I know I’ve said it before, but I’m saying it again…..MediaShare….the place for you to not only distribute (paperlessly) your content, but also for you to find content for you to use in your classroom.

And here are some links that were provided by members of the audience:

Treehugger.com - it’s the ultimate blog portal on all things environmental, a going green blog.  Earthhour (thanks to TheGilch String for that one).  The Green Guide.

Here’s a shot of the ‘front row kids’ (you remember those, always sitting in the front row, impressing the teacher with their attentiveness, probably always got ‘A’s in class…..LOL)

And here’s Unklar showing his support for ‘Going Green’:

And don’t forget!  The DEN in SL iSLeuth continues.  You have less than a week (June 17th) to solve those clues and figure out what the heck is going on!  I kept my distance from Riptide last night.  He was swinging one mean pair of crutches everytime he chatted!  And even though we spent quite a while talking, he never really quite explained how he ended up in a cast.  Hmmmmmmmmmm…..

Don’t forget to join us this evening (5 p.m. SLT, 7 p.m. CST, 8 p.m. EST) as Pennelope Riggles (Creative Director for the Smithsonian LatinoVirtual Museum in Second Life and DEN STAR educator Telos String give us aguided tour of the new museum and discussion on the current development of an interactive in-world game on excavation to exhibition of Pre-Colombian artifacts from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
We will meet at  2 DP ( our DEN in SL HQ)  and then be given the landmark to teleport to the museum.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland%20II/132/131/22