Awesome Tools for Teaching in Second Life

For a school project I have been observing a teacher in Second Life. The new viewer 2, which is not that new anymore, allows access to and displaying of the cloud in Second Life. I can now use Google docs to demonstrate how to develop a business plan with a Word doc, and how to use our financial projections workbook with an Excel doc.

Also, I can teach how to build a website with Webs.com, and by using Scribblar, I have access to a whiteboard which will display asset such as images (diagrams) and PowerPoint. Powerpoint has been available for a long time in Second Life but displaying it with Scribblar allows the use of drawing tools to highlight places on slides and enhance teaching, I have found.

Visit the island by clicking HERE: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Wyoming%20Entrepreneur/162/237/46

See photos below for my use of Google docs in Second Life.

Thar be land ahead! Wyoming SBDC has a Secone Life Island (kind of)

A unique fixer upper? Well, they are all when new and besides, we have an experienced and talented Second Life builder on the schedule. No, not me! But I will get there.

These shots may not be inspiring, but considering the journey I have taken they are awesome!

Thanks to the Wyoming SBDC State Office for support and vision.

And now the real work begins. We are looking to have a working model March 2010 and launch the island officially May 2010. I love exceeding timelines but we'll see.

Second Life for Dummies & the Kool-Aid Man

Before purchasing this book on Amazon, I used YouTube, Wikipedia, Second Life.com, and a few general Google searches to learn of this multi-user virtual environment.

Second Life for Dummies brings it all together by two authors that seem highly fluent in Second Life.

Here are a few news unique things I learned from the book (among many, many others):

• Average user age is 28 (although probably rising)
• Where to get lots of free stuff
• What a SLURL is (and you should learn too)
• You can become the Kool-Aid man or, Goofy or, a Jedi in SL
• How to communicate effectively
• Societal conventions
• Sandboxes: places to practice building. I personally use EdTech and pretty much
  stay within the realms of higher education for this type of activity

Mainly bought the book to learn how to build, but the more learned the better. In a few chapters I start building...

Disneyland imitation "Mouse World" showcases great ideas and technology

Being an overt fan of Disneyland, I have searched Second Life for such. Mouse World has basically re-created the entire Park and allows visitors to watch vintage video of Disneyland, and ride many of the current and former attractions. Wow! One may tour the Haunted Mansion, ride Pirates of the Caribbean or the Jungle Cruise, sail in the sky above on the Disneyland Monorail, etc. You may even buy a Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwich.

Not interested in Disney attractions for our SBDC island, yet the technology used in Mouse World is intriguing and provides great insight to some of the things we can do to create and engaging island.

Mouse World in Second Life is well worth a visit to procure new ideas and view possibilities.

3 Core Competencies of SBDC in SL

While SL is a fantasy world of sorts, there must be some basic competencies that mirror the real world, even though it will be done in a very fun and engaging way. They are:

1. A classroom for teaching a group of people.
2. A counseling location for one-on-one or one-to-many counseling and sharing of documents.
3. A self help area that can be accessed 24/7, with video, PP, templates, and links to other resources and people.

I am working on a schematic of the Wyoming SBDC island and have some good ideas.

A professor from Colorado State University gave me some great advice about my project recently.

Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Second Life

Every project has a starting point, this Second Life gig is no exception. So, here I go.

I work for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Wyoming, as a Regional Director in Rock Springs. We brand ourselves with the name: Wyoming Entrepreneur.

As webmaster of our site (www.wyen.biz), and a doctoral candidate studying instructional technology, I am ever searching for ways to use technology for outreaching to our clients, the entrepreneurs of Wyoming.

I believe that a Small Business Development Center in Second Life makes sense. We will have a place to hold conferences, counsel clients one-on-one or one-to-many, a video screen and documents download area, and some fun things to do like visit landmarks in Wyoming; perhaps ski at Jackson.

My approach to this project supports my work and my dissertation topic which so far is Counseling entrepreneurs in a 3-D multi-user virtual environment (muve). So, the approach to this will be as academic as possible as I would like to guide the project's efforts by using learning theory when feasible.

That is all for now other than to say that the Wyoming SBDC State Office supports this project and is awaiting a formal proposal.