Assignment 7--Second Life

I must admit this assignment was one that I initially dreaded at the beginning of the summer, but it ended up being one of my favorites. Dr. Mark was so excited about the potential of Second Life in education and it resonated from him the more you spoke with him about it. Through seeing his passion and excitement of using the software it was hard not develop an interest in the value of this exciting technology.

Students began early in the semester working with Second Life and Dr. Mark was kind enough to meet us in Golden Eagle1 to give us some pointers. He showed us how to get clothes, change our appearance, and teleport from one place to another. While I had tried Second Life before and had an account already signed up; the few times I had used it I had never seen any other avatars. After learning how to navigate to other places for entertainment, shopping, and educational purposes I quickly began to see what the excitement was about.

Prior to our conference, Dr. Mark encouraged us to visit Texas Women's University and look at the alcoves for the presenters. After visiting I had a much clearer picture of how we would do our presentation. I also was very impressed with my fellow classmates projects. It was fun to visit in the days prior to the conference, as new items were added, to see what their projects entailed.

A couple of days before the conference took place we gathered in the theater of Golden Eagle1 where Dr. Mark gave us some last minute instruction regarding the conference. I found it amusing that you could even have virtual popcorn! This was the first time we had all met as a class in Second Life and it was interesting to see the classroom potential for this powerful software. Prior to this I also didn't know how to sit, so this was also an interesting experience.

The day arrived for the conference and it was a huge success. We had a large turnout, it was enjoyable meeting new people, and visiting with classmates. Dr. Mark had prepared us t-shirts for the conference which even made it more fun and authentic. There were comment boxes at each alcove where we could leave feedback to fellow participants, and a place where we could collect handouts. It was amazing how genuine the whole conference seemed, and I found my mind brainstorming for lesson plans I could use in my own classes I teach.

This was truly a rewarding assignment and I appreciate all of the hard work Dr. Mark did to make it possible. I learned a lot and had a wonderful time.