Overview of initial considerations when beginning to use Second Life in a teacher education class. Includes recommendations for other faculty interested in considering Second Life or virtual, immersive platforms.

1. E-Learn – Las Vegas, Nevada November 2008 Dr. Eileen O’Connor, [email_address] (see companion paper for more info) Updated for fall 2008 class – presented to Graduate Center through Tuesday Morning Live! on 11/4/08

5. Development proceeded on several levels iteratively and often simultaneously

11. These were not the focus for this course

18. It proved useful to have some less pressured times for community building

21. Students learned about each other’s science and K12 project ideas. They shared an understanding and a caring unlikely to be duplicated in the text-based online analog of this experience.

22. Students had really moved beyond a focus on the SL technology to a focus on the ideas being shared

23. When instructor’s headset failed during a meeting without tech support, students continued with their own discussion. Good lesson for the instructor.

29. - Invest time  learning SL takes time - Learn social as well as basic skills  go to Orientation Island; attend meetings – you can learn communication skills without interactions - Document your work  take snapshots; make a log Don’t expect perfection in your first SL classes

30. - Determine type of SL experience: community building, virtual / simulations, or sociological  deciding what works best for your need - Align SL with instructional & affective objectives  integrate into course & assignment - Start small  Limit expectations; choose right class; don’t do whole class in SL A extensive virtual experience requires more development time and expertise (preferably w/ institutional support)

31. - Prepare students in advance  call if possible; integrate into syllabus; have handouts - Require time spent in SL before the course  require time spent on Orientation Island as part of an assignment - Expect that students can get access to technology  but have written alternative assignments on hand - Respect students time, if an online class  have students set the meeting time - Alert students to unsavory avatars  have escape routes planned too; talk to legal department w/ minors

32. - Get real estate from your institution  however, if necessary, have meetings in another island after asking permission - Get good computer  consider the times you will be in SL; if evening, get good home machine - Get tech support, if possible  but have tech-savvy students help you if necessary Remember, you are modeling experiential learning – expect the unexpected

33. - Have expectations for your meetings  allow time for introductions and ice-breaker field trips - Document the meetings  both you and your students should take snapshots & keep logs - Adapt as needed  if you have designed sufficient open-endedness this will be easier - Find easy ways to have students present  get inexpensive slide-presentation objects, for instance Enjoy the process . . . this is a new and exciting territory

34. - Establish if SL helped you meet your objectives  remember though you can have broad networking objectives too - Listen to student perspectives  assess learning logs & commentaries but students may have different objectives than yours - Evaluate assignments & outcomes  determine if assignments are meeting your expectations & rubrics - Locate models of student engagement assessment  new models for immersive environments are under development Develop your own assessment tool – how do you determine if a face-to-face class is working anyway?