Justin K. Reeve – EDTECH PortfolioSecond Life
532: Barbarian Invasion Simulation
Rules of the Game Form up to 4 groups. All prims must be physical. This is essential, because otherwise the collision detection won’t work, and the barbarians will pass right through. No prim can be larger than 2m x 2m x 2m. Plan on stacking your objects. Be aware that the barbarians will try to […]
532: A Theoretical Model for Virtual Worlds in Weber School District
I’d like to implement virtual worlds in Weber School District. Hopefully, I’m in a position to actually steer things in this direction, and make it happen and get beneficial results. My concern with the implementation is that Second Life itself has a minimum age of 16. Great for high school kids, but it leaves out […]
531: Virtual Ability
When we talk about teaching in virtual worlds, we’re not just talking about an extension of classroom practices in a virtual setting, but adopting a completely different paradigm and approach to instruction. One important consideration that can’t be overlooked is how the students react in the virtual setting; the teacher must be aware of and […]
531: Geo Quest
Here’s a simple “culture quest” for Geo Island, a region in Second Life dedicated to the study of geology. Interactive models, slideshows, and informational posters are available to guide students through topics relevant to earth science study. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Geo Island/140/62/504/ Begin your journey by heading north. Read all the posters you see. What are silicates? What […]
531: Social Presence and Immersive Environments
Virtual worlds are considered immersive environments, and as such, it’s not unexpected that the element of social presence plays a rather important role. Virtual worlds have an advantage over traditional forms of distance learning in this area, since the avatar is represented by many of the familiar visual and social cues humans are used to. […]
504: Virtual Worlds and Game-Based Learning Activities
This past week I was wrapping up a draft of a synthesis paper about constructivist learning theory and its application to educational simulations and virtual worlds. I imagine there’s nothing new about wide-eyed educational technology students wanting an excuse to study games in school. It’s a pretty hot topic in education right now. As for […]
501: Review of “Learning Online with Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds”
Learning Online with Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds: Strategies for Online Instruction is a book by Clark Aldrich, an educational game consultant, which explains the benefits of different types of games, and contains suggested models for instruction. It is intended mainly for teachers and curriculum designers, but could also function as a good introduction to […]