{"id":525,"date":"2012-12-15T13:44:52","date_gmt":"2012-12-15T13:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rosarioconsulting.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=525"},"modified":"2013-12-07T18:10:57","modified_gmt":"2013-12-07T18:10:57","slug":"why-use-virtual-worlds-to-teach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/why-use-virtual-worlds-to-teach\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Use Virtual Worlds To Teach?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Facebook Like Button v1.9.6 BEGIN [http:\/\/blog.bottomlessinc.com] -->\n<iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Finspiredtoeducate.net%2Finspiredtoeducate%2Fwhy-use-virtual-worlds-to-teach%2F&amp;layout=standard&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=450&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowTransparency=\"true\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height: 30px; align: left; margin: 2px 0px 2px 0px\"><\/iframe>\n<!-- Facebook Like Button END -->\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/rosarioconsulting.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/opensim.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-526\" title=\"opensim\" src=\"http:\/\/rosarioconsulting.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/opensim.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"265\" srcset=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/opensim.jpg 500w, http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/opensim-300x159.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Photo from\u00a0http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/educationau\/4291125291\/sizes\/m\/in\/photostream\/<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As I have been doing personal research on <a title=\"How would teaching history change if we could talk to the people of the past?\" href=\"http:\/\/rosarioconsulting.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=391\" target=\"_blank\">educational technology around chatbots<\/a>, I became\u00a0intrigued\u00a0in how teachers use virtual worlds as a teaching tool. \u00a0 This line of questioning led me to the following blog article from Vicki Davis and her students:<\/p>\n<h3><a title=\"FlatClassRoom and openSim\" href=\"http:\/\/coolcatteacher.blogspot.com\/2009\/02\/web-3d-students-using-opensim-reflect.html\" target=\"_blank\">Web 3D: Students using OpenSim Reflect on the Pressing Issues that We all Ask about Using Virtual Worlds<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>In this blog article, Vicki and her students reflect upon how OpenSim is used as a teaching and learning environment. \u00a0 \u00a0It&#8217;s inspiring to me to see that the students have become teachers. \u00a0 Very cool.<\/p>\n<p>I have to confess that this blog post makes me want to return to 9th grade so I can take Vicki&#8217;s class.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Motivations to use virtual worlds to teach<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Students become teachers:<\/strong> The virtual world creates an environment where students can become the teacher. \u00a0 I was impressed with the student reflections upon their work. \u00a0 Vicki has created a situation where students need to teach other students about a subject. \u00a0 \u00a0The students used their OpenSim creations as teaching tools for other students.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Students learn from making:<\/strong> The act of crafting simulated worlds creates teachable moments. \u00a0 One student mentioned he was struggling with designing his objects for realism. \u00a0 I find this kind of playful learning exciting. \u00a0 As a maker, you always have a tension between the vision of what you want to create and implementing that vision in the tools or media you select. \u00a0 \u00a0I LOVE that students are practicing this craft. \u00a0 The students felt they had a better grasp of working in 3D space(&#8220;x,y,z thinking&#8221;) through their construction of their virtual world.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Students teach each other about digital citizenship:<\/strong>\u00a0 Vicki Davis is teaching her students amazing lessons about digital citizenship. \u00a0 Students are teaching each other about the importance of sharing your identity in a responsible manner. \u00a0 (i.e. protecting your location, protecting your real name, etc.) \u00a0 \u00a0They are teaching each other lessons regarding responsible use of digital media. \u00a0 They are constructing experiences that help students understand issues around copyrights. \u00a0 \u00a0They are also building awareness around &#8220;creative commons&#8221; work.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Students are learning to collaborate with other students:<\/strong> \u00a0As a professional software creator and agile coach, I have learned that great software comes from great teams. \u00a0 \u00a0I love that Vicki through the Flat Classroom Movement is teaching students to collaborate with other students across the world. \u00a0 To learn more, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flatclassroomproject.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">please visit the following link<\/a>. \u00a0 This is amazing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>If you blog, you have to practice writing:<\/strong> \u00a0I believe it&#8217;s cool how Vicki encourages her students to use blogs to write about their journey and communicate. \u00a0 \u00a0Why? \u00a0In the process of blogging, the students can practice the craft of writing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Here are a few more helpful links to learning about the work of Vicki Davis:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flatclassroomproject.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.flatclassroomproject.org\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li>On this page, Vicki provides a brief about the flat classroom:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/coolcatteacher.blogspot.com\/p\/freebies.html\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/coolcatteacher.blogspot.com\/p\/freebies.html<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.reactiongrid.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.reactiongrid.com\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/opensimulator.org\/wiki\/Main_Page\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/opensimulator.org\/wiki\/Main_Page<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/sourceforge.net\/projects\/opensim-viewer\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/sourceforge.net\/projects\/opensim-viewer\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related Posts<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Benefits of Teaching Kids To Code That No One Is Talking About\" href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=623\">Benefits of Teaching Kids To Code That No One Is Talking About<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"7 Reasons Why The Makers Movement Is Revolutionary\" href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=942\">7 Reasons Why The Makers Movement Is Revolutionary<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"How to Build Your Mobile App using HTML\" href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=849\">How to Build Your Mobile App using HTML<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Maker Camp: Free Virtual Summer Camp for Teens\" href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=961\">Maker Camp: Free Virtual Summer Camp For Teens<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"5 Resources To Help You Teach Kids Programming\" href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=689\">5 Resources To Help You Teach Kids Programming<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"5 reasons to love Khan academy for computer science\" href=\"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/?p=202\">5 reasons to love Khan academy for computer science<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<!-- Facebook Like Button v1.9.6 BEGIN [http:\/\/blog.bottomlessinc.com] -->\n<iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Finspiredtoeducate.net%2Finspiredtoeducate%2Fwhy-use-virtual-worlds-to-teach%2F&amp;layout=standard&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=450&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowTransparency=\"true\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height: 30px; align: left; margin: 2px 0px 2px 0px\"><\/iframe>\n<!-- Facebook Like Button END -->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Photo from\u00a0http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/educationau\/4291125291\/sizes\/m\/in\/photostream\/ &nbsp; As I have been doing personal research on educational technology around chatbots, I became\u00a0intrigued\u00a0in how teachers use virtual worlds as a teaching tool. \u00a0 This line of questioning led me to the following blog article from Vicki Davis and her students: Web 3D: Students using OpenSim Reflect [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=525"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":528,"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525\/revisions\/528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/inspiredtoeducate.net\/inspiredtoeducate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}