It’s no secret that I like gadgets – and up until now it’ always been a BlackBerry device. But following on from the various Macs I have when Apple released the iPhone 3G here in Italy I jumped at the chance of getting one and thought I’d be a paradise, I wasn’t, I missed the BlackBerry that I had become accustomed to, the battery life that lasted me all day, the multitasking and the speed of the e-mail and messaging services not to mention the reliability. I left my iPhone on my desk to collect dust for such a long time, but would occasionally use it as a calculator lol. It wasn’t until my presence on Twitter and forever hearing and noticing that most of my colleagues supported an iPhone – after a while I found I was quite curious to understand why they raved so much about the iPhone, I wondered if there was perhaps something I was missing so I dusted down my iPhone and gave a it a second try. The first thing I did notice after a long time of not using it was the vast amount of apps, this is very much the down side with the BlackBerry some of the popular apps that the iPhone has aren’t available on the BlackBerry or aren’t as good as and sometimes the BlackBerry folks miss out completely. This was really the only thing that hit me initially – I tried to use the same programmes I have running on the BB, wifi and 3G , push notifications you name it everything that I use on the BB, guess what??? The iPhone’s battery was flat by lunchtime whereas the BlackBerry would get me through the day – how ever would I survive on the iPhone? I actually bought a battery booster which gives you 3 extra full charges, not cheap and seeing as Apple doesn’t give away iPhones it really is a let down.

That said after the initial Keynote at the beginning of the year with mention of the new iPhone os and then with the recent one earlier this month announcing the latest iPhone4, excites me and that much to get another one, what you say after moaning about the other ha ha. The things I complained about multitasking and battery life will be a leap forward and many other added new features one of which is FaceTime. If I abandon my BlackBerry completely then it will mean that Apple have put their finger on the button if not I will continue to use both devices as I do now, some things a BlackBerry does better and viceversa.

A growing number of teachers now use smart phones whether BlackBerry, iPhone or something else. Personally I find for social networking I couldn’t live without my gadgets, I can be on the go and be updating my Twitter account answering tweets, messages and emails, chatting on Skype and/or booking lessons for students – I would never have the freedom and extra time if I had to do this stuck sitting in front of a computer.

Do you use a smart phone? Are you passionate about the BlackBerry? Are you tempted by the iPhone4? Have you already pre-ordered it? I know a lot of my colleagues who do use smart phones but there are many of you who I don’t know. Leave a comment with your preferences of what and why you use them or if you hope to get one in the near future – finally, how can education benefit from this forever growing technology?

Seeing as I haven’t written for so long I have put myself in the corner – this is an ongoing joke between myself a a few Twitter friends – if they misbehave I send them to the corner lol…As you can see from the photo above I (my second life avatar) am wearing a tall pointed hat. A dunce cap, also variously known as a dunce hat, dunce’s cap, or dunce’s hat, is a pointy hat. In popular culture, it is typically made of paper and often marked with a D or the word “dunce”, and given to school children to wear as punishment by public humiliation for misbehaviour and, as the name implies, stupidity. While this is now a rare practice, it is frequently depicted in popular culture such as animated television series.

The images used are from Second Life – and the school is a very quaint victorian style school (owned by myself) – it also reminds me of one of my favourite television programmes when I was a child “The little House on the Prairie” feel free to visit The Schoolhouse –  and please leave your name and a message in the guestbook – I would love to know you dropped by.

Since then I’m glad to say things have got better. I have lived in Italy for many years and although education continues to make progress there is something that rather distresses me. From elementary right through to Secondary school students are graded half way through the year and if their grades aren’t sufficient they have the rest of the year to catch up. That said by the end of the year if more than 4 grades are insufficient they must then repeat the whole year – unless they spend part of their summer catching up and studying they are then given an extra chance of a final exam which then if passed in the various subjects entitles them to continue into the higher class the following school year. This is all very well and good for students who are prepared to take on this commitment not all are this way inclined and some students unfortunately have taken their lives. Does this happen in your country? Do you have a better or worse education system and what and how would you choose to make it better if you could?

Another year over and a new one begins. WhenI started this blog I was just experimenting and had no idea anyone would actually read it, at this point I realize that they do lol. That said, I feel I have to write something to keep it going and that won’t do, I don’t always have the time, energy or motivation, but sometimes I like to express something I’ve read, heard or for no particular reason write something that is close to my heart whatever that may be.

You may have noticed that now under The English Teacher reads The Life and Times of The English Teacher Online, which can also been seen on my Twitter profile, this would seem more appropriate as 2009 was definitely a Twitter year for me, anyone can pick up on news, gossip, and of course educational resources, plus just by clicking on any links for blogs aka Teacher’s Pets (soon to be updated) you will find a never ending list of my colleagues and friends who make a better job than me That said any students (or teachers) wishing for advice, help or anything else can use the help desk button. (NB Time wasters, spammers and idiots just get filtered and thrown away so don’t bother wasting your time.)

As for the Social Media Counter seen above, it was love at first sight the first time I saw it a few months ago on The Educator’s PLN by Tom Whitby and I think it’s very appropriate to start the New Year off using it.

Last but by no means least I would like to thank you readers and anyone else who pops by and reads my blog, a special thanks goes out to a whole new bunch of people who I have got to know via Twitter this past year and are a lovely bunch of people, I have my favourites and they know who they are, so thank you! What will 2010 have to offer you?

I wish all my friends, colleagues, students and followers a Very Happy Christmas, here below are the lyrics to my favourite carol and also performed by the Celtic Women, enjoy! )

Carol of the bells

Hark how the bells,
sweet silver bells,
all seem to say,
throw cares away

Christmas is here,
bringing good cheer,
to young and old,
meek and the bold.

Ding dong ding dong
that is their song
with joyful ring
all caroling.

One seems to hear
words of good cheer
from everywhere
filling the air.

Oh how they pound,
raising the sound,
o’er hill and dale,
telling their tale.

Gaily they ring
while people sing
songs of good cheer,
Christmas is here.

Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas,
Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas.

On on they send,
on without end,
their joyful tone
to every home.

Ding dong ding… dong!

Source YouTube

On behalf of the #teachertuesday series I thank everyone who nominated. An idea I had back in April which was backed up by my colleague and friend Kirsten Winkler. The idea was to nominate a teacher, school or anything connected to education using the hashtag #teachertuesday the nicest thing about it is it has brought a lot of teachers together from all over the world and helped share resources. By clicking www.teachertuesday.info you will access the web page of teachertuesday and be able to see all the tweets made by teachers/schools and bloggers via Twitter.

It’s been a while now since my last post, no I am not lazy but I have had plenty to do. As I promised a follow up to my first post here is the second. I was waiting for feedback from my students but they have been busy too so it hasn’t been possible apart from feedback from one, if in the near future they have the time I will certainly add their comments on to the post as I’m sure it will be of interest.

Thierry says…

“Some weeks ago, my English teacher Aniya proposed me to have a lesson

on Second Life. I knew the latter by name but I never tried it.

I was very astonished by the tool and how it could be used for learning.

As a matter of fact, having lessons in this way is really amazing since

you have the ability to visualize things and to be in real cases and

situations. Aniya built a dedicated place for learning and knows all about

the uses of the tool. She guides you in its use and using the tool is

very easy. I think that this method is the future of language learning

and really innovative! Have a try!”

Since writing the first post I have been able to explore Second Life more. I have given lessons to a few students and this is my conclusion. Any students already taking online lessons will find this innovative, basically it gets you out of the virtual classroom and into a simulative almost ‘real’ environment where anything and everything goes. First time students find it quite hard to get to grips with all the various tools you need to use in Second Life, but having said that so do us teachers, so it’s quite a normal stage. This does force the student to understand new terms used in Second Life and understand basic explanations from their coach. Students can choose what and where to visit after a few lessons of understanding the basics. Having said that it is also a fun experience for students even though they might misunderstand what you are telling them to do. I was surprised by one of my students knowing so much vocabulary, and what she didn’t know remembered the next time as she had visualized it there, this is the key factor of visual based learning via Second life.  Business students can learn in a typical office environment and act out a more realistic role play. And/or lessons can be split into Second Life and virtual classroom lessons as a follow up.

Second Life is still quite unknown to a lot of people, and it is more than just a game, you need to be able to have the time to actually understand how it really works, and this helps if you have a guide and or coach. My colleague Shelly Terrell and myself will take teachers through the basics to get you on your way. We will also make you an avatar if you are short of time (see below). We co-own The Teacher’s Haven (see photos) which is situated on Norris Point The Norris point Estate is owned by Joy Canedeo who is a great landowner, she is Canadian and has based the land on Norris Point, which really exists.

Norris Point is a picturesqe Newfoundland coastal community located at the doorstep of Gros Morne National Park of Canada.

There are plenty of schools, universities on Second Life which both teachers and students can visit, what we offer is something different, we offer our friends, teachers and students the chance to come to a peaceful haven, get a coffee, have a picnic,  chat in the peaceful surroundings and even a massage for those suffering from stress ha ha there are other things to do too which you will discover when visiting. Regularly we have a meet up with other teachers and go out dancing or to Karaoke venues, you name it we do it! The social events are a way of getting used to Second Life in a relaxed atmosphere and learning how your avatar works, our outings are not short of fun, we are NOT traditional teachers, whatever that is supposed to mean. .

Here below we have the avatars of 2 teachers a colleague and a friend, who’s who?

These are amongst some of the avatars I have made, avatars take time to make and most people don’t want the default one they are given so as not to stand out in a crowd, if you are an educator and are interested in approaching Second Life leave a comment below.

Lastly unfortunately several of my friends and colleagues are unable to use Second Life because their computer  doesn’t meet the minimum requirements here is a reminder of what you actually need.

An anecdote is a short tale narrating an interesting or amusing biographical incident. It may be as brief as the setting and provocation of a bon mot. An anecdote is always based on real life, an incident involving actual persons, whether famous or not, in real places. However, over time, modification in reuse may convert a particular anecdote to a fictional piece, one that is retold but is “too good to be true”. Sometimes humorous, anecdotes are not jokes, because their primary purpose is not simply to evoke laughter, but to reveal a truth more general than the brief tale itself, or to delineate a character trait or the workings of an institution in such a light that it strikes in a flash of insight to their very essence. A brief monologue beginning “A man pops in a bar…” will be a joke.

My husband, usually a well dressed man went off to the market to buy himself a mozzarella cheese to eat for lunch, on that particular morning he’d gotten up late and knew the market would be closing soon, so he threw on the nearest clothes he could grab, and a baseball cap to hide himself from people he might know lol there was no time for him to shower let alone shave. As he arrived at the market most stalls had already gone and others were being taken down. He approached one of the market stall holders and asked if they had a mozzarella left, no he was told but had got some roast beef, so he asked the stall holder if he had some bread to make a sandwich, he didn’t but sent my husband to another seller, when my husband asked how much the bread cost the market seller told him nothing. He then went back to the other market seller who had the roast beef as to make his sandwich. The sandwich was then cut, prepared and paid for. As my husband bit into the sandwich the market stall holder said with great glee “that’ll be the best sandwich you’ve ever eaten in your life” he had mistaken my husband for a tramp…

Photo courtesy Laurel Fan Flickr Source Wikipedia

In the depths of a land called Second Life lies a place called The Teacher’s Haven, teachers go there to relax, chat and discuss teacher related topics… Coming to a blog near you soon and based on that very land, is The Teacher’s Haven Blog, for teachers and written by teachers.

In collaboration with Kirsten Winkler Enterprises, Shelly Terrell and myself, oh yes I have my ‘wicked’ stepsisters with me this time we will be choosing some of the best bloggers, writers and teachers to have their own spot on The Teacher’s Haven, in return regular guest writers will receive their own personal name@theteachershaven e-mail address and of course their name to fame for being on the site.

kirsten winkler

Kirsten is a self made woman, smart, bright and human, I met Kirsten a year ago via Myngle the online platform we both work for and have never looked back. We have shared the #teachertuesday project together, tidbits and her so called nerdy slave Kay (the man out of the limelight). On New Year’s Eve, right through to New Years Day we had a Skype come YouTube party online which finished in the early hours of the morning, they, both worse for wear after I don’t know how many beers they had ha ha… What I like about Kirsten is she “bites” she is direct and we are somehow on the same wave length, so we have this thing going on about being virtual sisters. I admire her and I know it’s reciprocal. You can find Kirsten on Twitter.

Thomas Skennerton

Thomas is my favourite Twitterer, you can usually find us on Twitter up to no good with our comical ongoing saga. I have known Thomas aka tferthomas for several months, and although I wasn’t mad on him at first (in fact, I unfollowed him on Twitter) I thought he was a bore ha ha, (quite the contrary) until I started talking to him about our shared love the BlackBerry and then on to anything else under the sun. I was soon to discover an in depth guy who has been on a journey and knows what life is about. You can find Thomas on Twitter.

Shelly Terrell

Last but not least the terrible Shelly ha ha I will try to be nice in this post though. I met Shelly through various things, Twitter, Myngle and recently through Second Life (oops said it again) it was there that I really got to know this vivacious bubbly girl. She is smart, kind and I know she has helped a lot of people, this is one of her natural traits. Good grief this girl never sits still I’m not sure she actually sleeps, she is into everything something, and I really think of her as my little sister. You can find Shelly on Twitter.

I have found these three wonderful people online, each of them are from a different continent but they all have something in common, they are all genuine, fun loving sincere people who make the world a better place. I consider myself lucky to have met them. Thanks Kirsten, Thomas and Shelly.

It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to…

A colleague and I were talking the other day of the effect and some what chit chat from other colleagues about our recent interest in Second Life, Twitter etc., and that it has made us the talking point (Oh I didn’t know I was famous). That said, I don’t really care what people think of me when I like what I do, if I can help others, meet others and learn from my experiences whatever they maybe, then so be it.

I don’t intend filing up my blog with Second Life posts all the time, but at this moment in time it is what interests me the most, readers are free to not look at it, and perhaps I don’t have any readers anyway, I made this blog for myself and never had any intent whatsoever in people reading it, but people do read it, ’cause they tell me about typos (oh dear I hope I haven’t made any this time) or they liked what I’d written, or perhaps didn’t, but someone read it and that’s nice just the same..

So here goes with another Second Life post, not the usual but a few tweets ago I did tweet something about Second Life and Autism, apparently autistic people can relate to the use of Second Life, they can use its channels to communicate with. This is something I will look into as my 18 year old son is autistic, he does not use the computer, he seems uninterested, having said that he does come and look at the screen when he sees me, mind you it’s probably to say will you get off that damn thing lol (No I won’t).

I have many weird and wonderful ideas for Second Life (although I will not say now) I think it’s a great communicative tool, for many different reasons and for many different people from all walks of life, the important thing is knowing how to use it properly and this is where some people fail, myself included in the past.

Oh dear someone at the back there is yawning, time to say goodbye, enjoy the video!

Source YouTube

I am not going to bore those of you who are not interested in Second Life with post after post about Second Life, but as I gave my first lesson the other day, I will boast about it This is still very new to me, but it has become a passion, and anything which becomes a passion to me I do with ease and enjoyment, so if my lessons can be fun and educational at the same time, so be it!!!If you are a student and are interested in approaching Second Life please contact me for ulterior information (I will give you a FREE orientation lesson to learn the basics) and then you decide whether to continue or not..I will conduct these lessons via Myngle, Aniya’s Profile.

Although there are a lot of educators on Second Life, there are still many who are either unfamiliar with it or who look down on it as some stupid virtual game. Well, I can say that a couple of years ago I turned my nose up at it because I was unaware of how it worked, only now can I see it’s potential. I have turned back the clock and become a learner myself to understand how Second Life works. I was all fingers and thumbs to start with understanding how to use the controls etc., that said in a month I have learnt all the basic steps, I have bought land, a house and will run my private language schools office from there. We have also acquired a beach hut which overlooks the sea, a place for students and teachers alike to hang out, chat and relax.

I would urge all online teachers and any tech savvy educators to give it a go before giving the thumbs down. The mechanism I see is very similar to online teaching, but with the extra visual elements which make Second Life very realistic. Instead of the classical online classroom here we have a virtual world, where you can do almost anything and everything, infact some of the things I’ve tried in Second Life I have never done before in real life.

Students taking Second Life lessons will have to use plenty of conversation skills, backed up with listening (the use of audio makes SL even more realistic) and also reading. They will meet other teachers/students and anyone else who we may meet on our travels. I don’t intend using the Second Life experience sitting in a SL classroom, I really don’t see the point, but getting my students out and about to explore the ‘virtual’ (real) world. This would act out real situations and this is where I believe Second Life’s strong points are, especially for language learning. What we explore would then be followed up by either an online teaching session and some correct terms to use for future outings so to speak.

Another aspect of Second Life is socializing with other teachers Shelly tell us why. I have met several other educators in Second Life thanks to Twitter and especially amongst us ladies have never laughed so much. I visited the Macbeth sim hosted by Barbara Sakamoto which I thought would bore me to tears, quite the opposite in fact, it was a very interesting expedition, and this could be a great way of waking up younger and lazier students, I think I was one of those years ago ha ha…

Below you can see what happens when you play around in Macbeth….You lose your head!!!

So what are you all waiting for? There are lots of other weird and wonderful places to visit in Second Life. If you want to give Second Life a second chance I will be holding my real life Birthday Bash on there at the end of the month, if you are curious enough to try, please let me know and I will show you around before the event. Hope to see you all soon.

This post is dedicated to those teachers I have already met on Second Life, those who have helped me along the way and those who have become friends, if you are asking, I’ve met her, then you know I’m talking about you!

Source Second Life Myngle Twitter

To be continued…

What not to do..

Source YouTube

Virtual Classroom: A virtual classroom is a learning environment created in the virtual space. The objectives of a virtual classroom are to improve access to advanced educational experiences by allowing students and instructors to participate in remote learning communities using personal computers; and to improve the quality and effectiveness of education by using the computer to support a collaborative learning process. The explosion of the knowledge age has changed the context of what is learnt and how it is learnt – the concept of virtual classrooms is a manifestation of this knowledge revolution.

Following up from the recent very interesting first etcon=(E-Teachers Conference) the debating topic was on Virtual classrooms, do we really need them? Firstly and unfortunately the virtual classroom/meeting room that we were using for the debate, hosted by dimdim crashed. Needless to say after the introduction lead by Kirsten Winkler we had the first crash of the evening followed by others which lead the organizers to change platforms and use that of edufire. Unfortunate yes, but useful for the so called experts to get a taste of what we teachers experience frequently, that is unrealiable virtual classrooms to teach our students. Another of the questions debated and asked by Heike Philp was 10 reasons why Skype alone is not enough. I personally feel safer with the use of  Skype it is much more reliable for audio, but of course it does not have a virtual classroom etc and tools. There is a really interesting post on the forum at Myngle (viewable only for teachers) started by Kirsten, who has added a poll Virtual Classrooms and Skype in Online Teaching. So my question is, which Virtual Classroom do you use and what are the pros and cons?

Source  etcon kirsten Winkler dimdim edufire Myngle Wikipedia

I thought this would be an appropriate post for this week seeing as I was invited by my ex Celta tutor Chris Cattaneo to talk about technology for teachers in one of her CELTA sessions for trainess at International House, Milan we discussed with trainees informative websites for both teachers and students, how they can be used and if they were useful or not. I told the trainees about online teaching, how to get started, what is involved and how to sell yourself amongst the many online platforms, or using a free online virtual classroom. To some trainees this proved an interesting option for the future. We also spoke about Twitter how to use it seeing as most of the trainees had heard about it, but apart from one no one seemed to know how it worked.

I also received an e-mail from someone just about to embark on a CELTA course asking me for any advice and know-how before the course starts.

So what is Cambridge CELTA?

The Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults is an international TEFL training and certification program. Originally known as the RSA Certificate, the program became the RSA/Cambridge CTEFLA in 1985. The name changed to RSA/Cambridge CELTA in 1996 and to Cambridge CELTA in 2001.

CELTA - Cambridge ESOL’s Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults is one of the world’s foremost initial qualifications for people who wish to become professional teachers of English language. It is accepted throughout the world by organisations which employ English language teachers.

Cambridge ESOL works with international ELT organisations to ensure the acceptance of Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) globally. According to Cambridge ESOL more than 10,000 candidates complete a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) course each year.

The Certificate in English language teaching to adults will be your passport into TEFL.

The CELTA is a common requirement for those entering the field of English language teaching. Because it is recognised internationally, it is a particularly popular credential among people who wish to travel and teach English around the world (see TEFL for an extended discussion of travel-teaching). However, it is also held by people who intend to teach only in the country where they trained, and do not intend to travel.

The full-time CELTA course runs for four weeks; it can also be taken part-time over several months. CELTA courses are run by many different institutions, whereas the courses are validated and certificates are issued by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), a part of the University of Cambridge.

The CELTA is awarded upon passing the course, which includes six hours of assessed teaching practice to real English language students, at two different levels. The course grade is determined primarily by the performance of the teacher in this teaching practice; there are also a number of written assignments due throughout the course, which are graded on a pass/fail basis only. The grades awarded are pass, B and A. As of 2000, worldwide five percent of trainees withdrew before completing the course, three percent failed, 63% received a pass, 25% received a grade of B, and four percent received a grade of A.

The full-time four-week course is very intensive, and students taking it must be prepared to dedicate all their waking hours to it for the duration. Even the part-time version of the course can take up more time than a full-time job for many students, especially those with no teaching background.

Each year around 900 CELTA courses are run by around 280 centres, primarily language schools, in 54 countries, producing over 10,000 graduates.

How to get the most out of an intensive CELTA course

Personally from my own experience the CELTA is a very demanding course indeed, you need to be 110% dedicated, I remember eating, sleeping and doing everything CELTA when I was on it, I would wake up in the early hours of the morning with an idea for my next (TP=teaching practice lesson) and you do go through the emotions as you are constantly being monitored, criticized (constructive criticism) and wondering, what am I doing here lol but onto a positive note before people run off, it is fun, you meet new people, and if you get lucky like me you get to talk to would be trainees years later

So are there any would -be trainees around or are you a teacher who took the CELTA Cambridge course, what was it like for you?

Source www.english-international.com International House Wikipedia

Last week whilst eavesdropping on a Twitter conversation between @barbsaka and @ShellTerrell two fellow English Teachers, the word  ‘shopping’ springs to mind. I followed this link to twitpic. I joined SecondLife several years ago but was not taken by it at all and really couldn’t understand what all the hype was about. I was then invited by my fellow colleagues to a sort of how to use SL (I will use initials.) So I downloaded the programme again and chose an avatar and gave myself a name (I will mention that later.)Editing ones appearance can take time to start with, I wanted to make mine similar to me as much as possible, well both my colleague and son thought it was me so that’s near enough. Before the actual field trip I met up with Rainey and Alyssa (these are my SL friends names I will mention who these people are at the end of the post.) Before I actually met up with them which took me all evening because I fell down a cliff lol, is getting accustomed to the SL tools and controls which can seem quite complex to start with. We had a mini shopping spree and oohh was that fun. By the time we had the field trip given by Lynn who was great, I had been shopping quite a lot, but the controls played havoc with me to start with, and seeing as I use a mac I had to come to terms with that. But things got better and I suddenly saw the light, that’s why I chose Patience as my SL name, you can choose any first name you wish but the surname can only be chosen from the drop down menu SL offers you, so Patience Meiler was born on the 9th July 2009.

So what is Second Life?

Second Life (SL) is a virtual world developed by Linden Lab that launched on June 23, 2003 and is accessible via the Internet. A free client program called the Second Life Viewer enables its users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars. Residents can explore, meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services with one another, or travel throughout the world, which residents refer to as the grid. Second Life is for people aged 18 and over, while Teen Second Life is for people aged 13 to 17.

Built into the software is a three dimensional modeling tool based around simple geometric shapes that allows a resident to build virtual objects. This can be used in combination with the Linden Scripting Language which can be used to add functionality to objects. More complex three dimensional Sculpted prims (colloquially known as sculpties), textures for clothing or other objects, and animations and gestures can be created using external software. The Second Life Terms of Service ensure that users retain copyright for any content they create, and the server and client provide simple digital rights management functions.

My adventures on Second Life have begun…

Recent trip to London…

I am being patriotic here…

Just checking the time…

Second Life may not appeal to all, it does have its negative areas too which are audio problems, screen freezing and various other lags etc. but hey I didn’t call myself Patience for nothing. Another aspect I can foresee happening after the initial exploring, shopping etc., is  asking yourself now what? Well from a teachers point of view here’s where it gets very interesting. Visual based learning can be very effective for students, lets look at it this way, for a student meeting their teacher (via your SL avatar) in a bar, at the beach, at the market and this could  be anywhere in the world considering the vast amount of locations to choose from is never ending so students are learning in a fun based virtual atmosphere.

These are just some of my initial views about Second Life and I hope it’s given an insight to those of you who have had no clue of how it can actually be used. If you are a teacher out there and have been viewing my  Second Life Adventures via Twitter and would like to meet up please let me know. If you are a student already using SL and interested in learning English via it, watch this space! Do you love or hate SL, why, why not? See you on the next adventure…

I would like to thank above all Lynn=@barbsaka for her guidance and sharing, Rainey=@ShellTerrell for her friendship and that infectious giggle, Caliburn=@caliburnsusanto for allowing us to use his property, and my other Second Life friends, Alyssa=@burcuakyol Marisolde=@Marisa_C and Caoilainn=@spkspanglish

Source Second Life Wikipedia Twitter

Source www.etcon.eteachersacademy.com YouTube

A few weeks ago I came across Tungle and fell madly in love with it. I am not usually into calendars as such, but this is something different and it really appealed to me. Based on tracking, syncing your meetings and appointments it can also be used, and in my case is for booking lesson times and reminders of this that and the other. I have used it with my students and they seem to like it too. If you have a blog you can also install the widget, so that others can view your availability.

I asked Tungle what exactly this name meant, but they were reluctant to tell me as it’s a company secret, curious as I am that really got me thinking, well I would say that to tungle is a verb, what do you think?

So what exactly is Tungle?

Tungle turns your calendar into a truly connected productivity tool. Tungle is not a
calendar – it syncronizes with your current calendar, so it’s no longer a simple time
tracking device, but can now help you manage your schedule and relationships,
and make meetings happen.

According to a not so recent article I found at www.news.cnet.com a surprising new study at the California State University at Northridge shows that students learning in a virtual classroom tested 20 percent better across the board than their counterparts who learned in a traditional classroom.

In his applied statistics course last year, Jerald Schutte, a professor at Northridge, randomly selected half of his students to be taught through traditional in-class lectures and pen-and-paper homework assignments while the rest learned through text posted online, email and newsgroups, real-time chat with their classmates, and electronic homework assignments.

Let’s see what happened.

The students in the virtual-learning group were given two in-class lectures to explain the technology they would be using and then came to class again only for the midterm and the final exam.

There were no statistically significant differences between the sex, age, computer experience, or attitude toward the subject material of the two groups, Schutte said. Both were given identical tests that they took under the same conditions.

The results of the groundbreaking study, obtained by CNET this evening, provide the first quantitative data to be collected on virtual education–a field that until now has largely subsisted on anecdotal data, despite huge amounts of money that universities are spending to establish themselves as leaders in online education.

Schutte said the unexpected results of the research can be explained by the online collaboration created in the virtual classroom.

“The students formed peer groups online as compensation for not having time in class to talk,” he said. “I believe that as much of the results can be explained by collaboration as the technology.”

In traditional educational theory, a professor is thought of as the mediator, the figure who encourages collaboration. Most people believe that this is the only way to learn.

“But in fact,” Schutte said, “there is a very subtle thing going on here. A classroom can be inhibiting, intimidating. [In the classroom] you think you are the only person who doesn’t know the answer, so you don’t talk. The very way classrooms are set up, with everyone facing forward, deters interaction.”

In fact, according to the study, students in the virtual class spent about 50 percent more time working with each other than the people in the traditional classroom. And while the report acknowledges that the inability to talk to the professor was the cause of this interaction, the results show that the collaboration “manifests itself in better test score” as students formed study groups to “pick up the slack of not having a real classroom.”

Other educational studies have discovered similar benefits to online student collaboration.

“It is an effort to engage,” said Jeff Stanzler, who directs a University of Michigan program that encourages high school students to share their poetry online. “Students need to have a certain mindset. This different than regular lessons and schools. They are encouraged to respond and work together and put those demands a little more front and center than they can in a classroom.”

Online teaching won’t solve all educational problems, however. Although the results of his study support much of the hype surrounding its future, Schutte points out that virtual learning may have its limits.

“You must distinguish between the form and the content,” he said. Virtual learning “may only be useful in the abstract, only for certain kinds of classes,” he added.

For subjects where real-time interpersonal communication is required, such as philosophy and ethics, computer-mediated communications such as videoconferencing and supplemental online texts may be the answer.

This semester, Schutte plans further study with a sociology methods class. In an effort to discover whether the high levels of collaboration were a result of the particular group of students in the virtual class or the virtual experience itself, he will try single-subject replications.

That means that students will learn some modules in the classroom and some online. Schutte will test them after each module to see if performance levels are different.

12 years has passed since this article was written, and technology has taken a giant step forward especially in the e-learning/e-teaching world. For those of you learning or teaching online what are your views?

Source www.news.cnet.com Image courtesy of flickr