Here's the point of this post. If one is going to teach or take on online class (and there are many out there), it makes SO much sense to do it in Second Life when the interactions are the next best thing to face-to-face conversations. You can use your own voice and communicate in real time. Other online classes are mired in delayed conversations or what is called "asynchronous" communication. Most students and teachers I talk to do not like the "traditional" mode of online classes precisely because there is such a disconnect between student-teacher and student-student. Students feel like isolated individuals. Well, problem solved! In Second Life, one can have a classroom (but cooler looking!) just like the real world and have good, meaningful discussions about the course. No more isolated individuals. We are "present" to each other, which heightens learning, and IMO, makes the online class actually one worth taking.
Who knows...maybe we are seeing a glimpse into the future of education...
As weird as second life is, "traditional" (read: bullshit) online classes are pretty much the devil, so I'd kind of like to see them become more relevant.
ReplyDeleteSecond Life, online, face to face, are just different ways of delivering educational services. To each his or her own!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest gripe with online classes at Whitewater, including Second Life, is that they rip off the profs teaching the classes. For example, each student that take an online class pays an extra 150 bucks per credit hour, and given the rather large number of online classes here, these funds grow into huge amounts, so where do these funds go and what are they used for? These funds (over a million) are placed in a special account and used to fund pet projects of the Dean of the College of Letters and Sciences. Profs who do the heavy lifting in these courses get SQUAT. In short, they are ripped off. Why should the dean who does not teach period be able to use these funds as she see fit? At the very least, the profs should receive extra compensation for teaching online classes. These kind of classes are much harder to teach than face to face classes. By the way, I am just referring to the College of Letters and Sciences, for in COB profs are compensated for teaching online classes. So lets have justice and pay the profs!
We are praising the course on Second Life, then forget about all that I love education crap, pay him. He has spent considerable hours putting this course together, and while we are at it, lets pay other profs teaching online. Now don't get me wrong, profs love praise, but little babies cannot drink praise.
There are some interesting clothing choices in this video. I'm not sure I like them much.
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