The Story of My “Second Life”

“Distance Education on the ‘MUVE’ : A place to go to learn together without leaving home,” was a great success thanks to our panel of distinguished presenters, the efforts of a dedicated volunteer team, and our gracious host, ISTE, who provided much more than just the venue – they provided the community that made the event possible.

While it is impossible to thank everyone involved, at the top of the list is Kittygloom Cassady (in RL, Director, General Membership Program, ISTE) followed closely by Ravenphoenix Zenovka, ISTE Island Co-Manager (and the driving force behind the infrastructure needed to pull this off); Ken Greer from Drexel University, 2007 Chairman of the NDLW National Committee; our presenters: Maggie Marat, Decka Mah and Intelligirl Tully; our truly gifted moderator Fleep Tuque; our capable and patient volunteers Dewey Jung, Mari Asturias, ScubaChris Wollongong, Scottmerrick Oh, Claird Loon, Meredith Snookums, Zsuzsa Tomsen, Road Matova, Zipplestich Bing, and Roshana Rives; ISTE Board Member Hodjazz Edmann (for doing the best he could with regards to machinima of the event – I still don’t know if it came out!); all the other ISTE Docents who attended and helped whomever they could; and last but not least, our audience, without whom this would have been a non-event!

Mental images from each of the speakers’ presentations are still rumbling around in my head. I’ve known Maggie for as long as I’ve been in SL but it’s still incredibly powerful to hear her speak about Ramapo Islands, the ever-expanding program she is building at Suffern Middle School in Suffern, NY. She nonchalantly recounts project after project involving her motivated staff (some of whom were and are admitted technophobes), explaining how curriculum drives the process of engaging students in immersive projects that capture their imagination and drive them to master subject material – all so that they can excel in her virtual learning spaces.

Decka Mah was next, and while I’ve actually known her longer than Maggie, I’ve only interacted with her a fraction of the time I’ve bee in-world, unfortunately. Still, I’m greatful SL makes it even possible for us to work together half a world away! Decka’s retelling of her experience with adult students, particularly the personal vingettes and a-ha moments, were the highlight for me. I especially liked the story of when one of her initially-skeptical students actually noticed she was holding her breath when her avatar was underwater. Tell that to the skeptics who don’t think the environment is worth investing in. As educators, it is up to us to design learning environments that harness that power to deliver meaningful instruction. Decka is doing that every day on her island, Terra Incognita.

Intelligirl Tully was last. I actually met her for the first time in Second Life last night. (We had met back in August at the Second Life Community Convention in Chicago.) She was clear, passionate and powerful as she explained how we as educators need to recognize the unique affordances Second Life provides and create learning environments that don’t simply replicate real life. Her mantra, “Pedagogy first, technology second” is ringing particularly loud in my head right now, as my experience to date with our Teen Second Life after-school club would be very different at this moment had I worked harder to remember that!

Fleep Tuque then deftly guided the audience through Q&A, which she had been compiling as the speakers presented. She directed questions to each speaker like a pro, kept us on time, and generally did a spectacular job as master of ceremonies. Afterwards, we gathered at three specially-prepared, pre-designated fireplaces for intimate text-chat follow up with each of the presenters, who graciously stayed up to an hour past the end of the actual event. Check out my pictures from the event here.

I’m very proud to say I was part of this, and will take credit only for approaching ISTE and saying, “Hey, could we have a panel of speakers for National Distance Learning Week?” (It wasn’t even my idea – it was Ken Greer’s.) Everything else literally fell into place thanks to the efforts of the people mentioned above.

This event is, to me, a true testament to the power of the educational community in Second Life. Incredibly talented educators from all over the world came together to share, learn, explore and support each other in this amazing virtual gathering space. While the event was not without technical glitches – it is, after all, cutting edge technology – I think it’s safe to say it was all we hoped it could be.

We were, and are, “learning together without leaving home!”

See you in-world,

-kj-