Whenever I mention to educators that they could easily use Second Life, whether for the classroom or for free professional development and networking, I generally receive expressions of doubt and dislike or clear looks of confusion. And occasionally, I get “that’s a game, right?” followed by uncertainty that any sort of “game” could be used as professional development for educators. After three years of continuously illustrating the uses and benefits of Second Life for Educators, the following are the 8 ways that I introduce Second Life as an educational tool for teachers, administrators, and all types of pedagogues.
1. ISTE SigVE [Special Interest Group: Virtual Environments]
When I first joined Second Life in 2010, this group is why I signed up and where I first visited. The 3rd Thursday of every month, SIGVE hosts a very popular Speaker Series with guests from Harvard’s Dr. Chris Dede to ReactionGRID’s John Lester to various educators sharing their work and PhD-ers sharing their research on utilizing MUVEs as well as other bleeding edge technology in education.
+ Main Website
+ Previous Speakers
+ SLurl (Second Life URL)
NEXT SPEAKER DATE: April 16th, 2013 featuring Dr. William Schmachtenberg, aka “Dae Miami,” a teacher from Virginia, speaking about the virtual world URU, which he has used in his classes.
2. Virtual Pioneers
The Virtual Pioneers started as a group of Social Studies/History teachers who actively search for and tour historical recreations in Second Life (of which there are many). Several locations are literal recreations (such as Versailles in Second Life and the Globe Theatre) and others are general representations of a place or time. All can be used in a classroom setting to illustrate in 3-D these events, places and eras to our students. You do not have to teach Social Studies in attend; I am a regular attendee along with others who lead technology classes, teach elementary school, or are higher education administration. You have no need to participate other than listening/reading and following along in the tours.
+ Main Website
+ Upcoming & Past Tours
+ SLurl (Second Life URL)
3. VWBPE Annual Conference [Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education]
What conference have you recently attended that boasted between 2,000 to 3,000 visitors and provides such a wealth of information world-wide almost 24 hours a day for three to four days continuously on topics that the regular classroom teacher has yet to even consider? For the past six years, VWBPE has provided an astounded Second Life-based conference drenched in scholarly and experiential research that ANY scholarly person should be attending. I, myself, attended and participated on a panel at VWBPE for the first time in 2012, and I was completely blown away by the academic research and the longterm tales of in-the-trenches usages of cutting edge technology in K-Higher Ed classrooms. I have purposefully scheduled absolutely nothing aside from a babysitter for the four days of VWBPE 2013. This is a MUST for the doubtful administrator or higher ed representative. Check out the 2012 Session Listing to see what I mean!
+ Main Website [with 2013 Conference information]
+ 2012 Session Listing [with clickable info per session]
+ 2012 Conference Proceedings
+ 2007 – 2012 “Televised” Presentations
6TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE DATES THIS YEAR: July 24th to 27th
4. VSTE [Virginia Society for Technology in Education]
At the time I joined Second Life, I lived in Virginia and quickly learned of VSTE and their extensive workshops, sessions, conferences, and other events. Their “island” on Second Life is full of SLurls and items free for all in education. Nearly every Monday night at 8pm EST, VSTE has some sort of interesting event open to everyone. Also, they frequently host non-Virtual Worlds related events, such as last year’s Summer of Learning in which VSTE held a book club on Dr. Jane McGonical’s Reality is Broken and held weekly speakers on the subject in Second Life (I was one of the speakers and wrote about the book club as well).
+ General Info Website
+ VSTE Online! NING: Second Life Group
+ 2012 Summer Book Club Info
+ SLurl (Second Life URL)

VSTE Summer of Learning Speaker Panel
5. SLEEC [Second Life Educators of Escambia County]
Proof that “they do exist!” These are the educators (and students via a protected, private Second Life “island”) of the Escambia County School District in Pensacola, Florida who not only use Second Life with their students (as well as Dreamland Metaverse for students under the age of 13), but also use Second Life to hold district professional learning series offering inservice points for teachers and even their very own educational technology conference: Virtual Innovative Teaching and Technology Summit. Gosh, could you imagine every school district (or universities, for that matter) providing inservice points and certification hours virtually with an “in-person” atmosphere without traveling at all or the redundancy of a 2-D online discussion board? Or even every district and university hosting their own conference? They are doing it right now!
+ Website #1
+ Website #2
+ Must-Read “About” Section
+ SLurl (Second Life URL)
6. VWER [Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable]
Once any educator feels more comfortable in the Second Life environment and more willing to interact or participate in a smaller group, the VWER is a great place to visit once a week [thanks to Dan Holt for the info correction] to join others in discussing a wide variety of issues in education, from MOOCs to the flipped classroom, not just in regards to virtual worlds.
+ Website
+ SLurl (Second Life URL)
NEXT MEETING: Thursday April 4th, 2013 — Topic: “Where to take students in SL or other grids and why?”
7. ISTE Virtual World Tours
The ISTE Virtual Tours offerings are a new feature for SIGVE. Hosted by the longterm Second Life in education (ISTE and VSTE, among others) member and expert Matt Poole, aka “Cyrus Hush,” who knows the ins and outs of the educational uses of MUVEs better than almost everyone else. Tours are planned frequently on Wednesday nights at 8pm EST and all are welcome!
+ SIGVE Calendar [with Tour events listed]
+ SLurl (Second Life URL)
8. VEJ [Virtual Education Journal]
VEJ is the first non-peer-reviewed journal focusing on utilizing MUVEs and other bleeding edge technology in education. This journal covers a wide gamut from recent research to personal accounts to previous and upcoming events in the educational digital world. Anyone in education who needs proof that Second Life and other controversial usages of technology in education work for both educators and for students should peruse this journal and see for themselves what opportunities might present themselves.
+ Main Website
+ Previous Issues
+ Latest Issue
For those with whom I discuss Second Life and Virtual Worlds in education who genuinely have their interest piqued, I add a “one step further” by mentioning University of Washington’s Certificate in Virtual Worlds. UW’s work in Second Life, including such projects as Maya Island, has been phenomenal and their affordable certificate program is continuously increasing in size with each offering.
Second Life is not a game. Yes, there are communities that specifically “role-play,” but in general, the large educational work in Second Life focuses on lifelong learning. You will find friendly people, fascinating places, and mind-blowing opportunities that enhance education for ALL participants, not just the students.
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