Thursday, June 28, 2012
As I try to figure out Second Life and its impact on education, I came upon this book: Future Imperfect: Technology and Freedom in an Uncertain World by David D. Friedman. The premise of the book is that the future is unbelievably uncertain and that we should start to think about the possibilities and how to deal with them now rather than later. He talks about privacy and the Web and how your online presence makes it possible to have an identity and also be anonymous - all at once. Spending time in Second Life is that exact thing. I have an identity but yet no one really knows who I am. There are endless possibilities, both good and bad, with this scenario. As the semester goes on, I will continue to keep an open mind on how Second Life can have a positive impact on students.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi Wendy,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to praise you for cautiously accepting uncertainty and your 'getting immersed' bravery in becoming involved with VW's. More and more as I have been in this class, I have become aware of how much my children are doing in VW's. I had no idea they were part of one or any for that matter, and now they are communicating with me about them on a daily basis. I am so glad to be aware and know more all the time, but also I face the whole concept with huge trepidation about what will be the future as the result of all this change. As educators we need to know, which is why I am taking the class. Endeavoring to keep an open mind as you are...thanks!
Thanks for your post. I am reading a book for another course about managing transitions (actually that's the title and it's by William Bridges). It speaks to the constant change in today's world and the ways we can live and work in a time of change. Part of what I'm taking away from the book is that I don't have to do it all, but I should be prepared for what I do want to do. So, I probably won't use VW's in my teaching, particularly as I teach in an elementary school, but I will use them in my learning. I now have an expanded vocabulary and a small bit of knowledge about worlds that are important to many people and where I can access many things in an experiential way (today I was in a tsunami!). Exploring can be a wonderful thing ...
ReplyDelete