2nd Email Pre-planning Literature Investigations on Ramapo Islands

Before i even had a chance to set up a RL appointment to meet with this teacher, she has started to envision her SL experience: :-)

"Hi Peg!
Here are few things I'd like in 2nd Life:
* Something for vocabulary (There are a ton of vocabulary words the kids will need to look up or post--not sure how this could look)
* Something about the authors
* Time period the book was written
* Reviews/articles relating to the book
* Separate rooms for each book (or author since I have three H.G. Wells tittles)

More to come I'm sure...I just wanted to get some thoughts on paper for us!
Thanks!
T"

OK - Educators! Please send comments, ideas, suggestions curriculum. My gut feeling is that role playing may provide answers to needs for this unit - also some retelling, reflection, and of course discussion. SLURLS will be helpful- perhaps in the library on Ramapo Islands - hmmmm

From the beginning...

OK - Let's do this one from inception to completion - here is the email I received from a teacher who has caught the fire:

"I'm inspired! I want my next unit to include Second Life.
Here's what I have for the next unit:

Five book choices (Classic sci-fi and fantasy)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Tarzan of the Apes, The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, The Invisible Man.

The unit focus is Expression of Social Views Through Theme...these are the essential questions:

What is the root of human conflict?
Is the capacity for good or evil learned or innate?
How do authors express social and/or political views in their work?
What makes someone a hero?"

I will blog the entire process as we go - and perhaps the viewer community here can contribute ! Please feel free to contribute ideas for this project and I will share our process as it unfolds.

Re-Inventing the Wheel!

Yesterday six remarkable educators visited us (in real life) at Suffern Middle School! Representing many of the BOCES regions of the Hudson Valley, they drove impressive distances to actually experience what our students do in SL each day. The feedback I received was very validating and I believe my visitors contributed as much as they gained. The best part of the day for me was watching my kids shine! They not only demonstrated the skills they have mastered in the virtual environment, but they were poised, direct, and amazingly succinct in their reponses to questions and conversations. As always, an hour with the kids is worth more than all the presentations I could ever deliver. This is their frontier, and they want us to understand and support it! Since I neglected to directly ask permission of my guests to publish their names and affiliations I will await their comments in this forum but I wish to extend my thanks to them. One remarakable resource that was shared is this blog: http://www.puritansguidetosecondlife.blogspot.com/ also in my list to the right. Don't miss it!