Hi all,
I really enjoyed my first group meeting on SL. Thanks for all those who participated and brought this experience to life. I certainly got to know about the different tools that are available in this virtual world which offer us the opportunity to be creative and innovative. I am fascinated by the way Second Life enables us to create and own any objects that we fancy which could be difficult for us to have in First Life e.g. you could design and build you own house or create your own guitar if you like.
I liked the trial and error method of learning on SL. You are meant to learn by exploring the objects that you can see in the environment around you. Perhaps this could be an important learning method that could be used in various educational settings.
I have found this interesting video tutorial about how to construct objects on Second Life. I hope it is useful…
I completely agree about learning by exploring, especially for practical Media and Film work. I don’t show the students how to use the cameras or the digital editing software (beyond a few saftey aspects and how to look after the cameras and tripods) I set a very simple, but specific task for filming and for editing their work. Then I just tell them: “try it – do it. I’m here when you get stuck”. They ask if they neeed me, but they get on amazingly well, going at their own pace and they often teach each other. It is by far the best way as they are used to fiddling with phones, computers etc.
By: Ruth Linton on June 5, 2008
at 6:13 pm
Absolutely, I personally prefer this way of learning. I like to work out new things and discover how it works especially when it comes to the practical side of things. Learning through the trial and error method is stickier that any other way and people don’t tend to forget what they have learnt.
By: ozzy070 on June 5, 2008
at 7:51 pm
I really enjoyed Second Life, too, but this way of learning is not for me! I much prefer reading a manual and following instructions, rather than more experiential learning. I’ve just ordered a Second Life guide from Amazon!!! So you can see how far it gets me next Tuesday!
By: Missbrodie on June 6, 2008
at 5:56 am
This is also a more structured way of learning which works for a lot of people. Others would prefer someone to show them how to do things rather than working it out themselves or following a user guide. I personally prefer this way when I deal with sophisticated pieces of software. Although I like the experimental side of learning but I know that getting someone more experienced with the new technology to give me hints and tips will save me time and get me to achieve quicker learning outcomes.
By: ozzy070 on June 6, 2008
at 9:17 am
Hey, i like experimenting and finding things by my own but i work in a better way when i cooperate with someone else. In SL for example i have explored some of the places that exist and how things work but i got bored quite easily. The reason is that i was doing this by myself. If i did it with my friends and discuss what i watched or discovered, then i would be much more motivated to discover more. And to be honest, i belong to this kind of people that are introduced to new concepts and ideas by listening carefully before trying them by myself.
By: emeraja on June 8, 2008
at 10:09 am