VoiceThread+-+Second+Life

=VoiceThread - Second Life =

 Emerging Trends in Technology Instruction Project  : The assignment is to research an emerging trend in educational technology and create an instruction application with the application VoiceThread.
 * Read and Research a new emerging trend in technology or Web 2.0 technology
 * Learn about VoiceThread (an application that will be used to create an interactive instructional project)
 * Design and Develop the Instruction in the application Voicethread.

I chose to explore Second Life because it is an innovative and emerging tool when it comes to education. This is especially true when it comes to education in the higher learning environment. This tool expands the learning environment to allow students to explore places, processes and concepts in ways never thought possible. Where else could someone walk inside of the human heart, for example? Even though this experience is virtual, the student becomes immersed in this environment very quickly.

 media type="custom" key="5254963" View the VoiceThread here or click this link to view full screen: http://voicethread.com/share/865297/

Project Reflection
This assignment asked the student to choose an emerging Web 2.0 technology and present it to fellow classmates utilizing another Web 2.0 tool called VoiceThread. The Web 2.0 tool I chose to explore was the virtual world of Second Life by Linden Labs. This virtual world is already teaming with a diverse collection of educational institutions, programs, and environments to teach not only students, but educators as well. When I began my research into Second Life, I realized that this topic was much larger and more complex than most of the other topics that were offered. It was large and complex, but it was one of the most fun, interesting, and creative topics I could have imagined.

I perused Second Life for the first time about a year ago. The school where I work was considering establishing a presence within the virtual world and I was going to be a part of it. After much research and collaboration, the school decided that it was cost preventative at the present moment to establish a presence. That was, unfortunately, the last time I had visited Second Life.

I was, of course, very happy to go there again for this project. I created a new avatar that would allow me to interact with the world. I began looking for educational institutions that have a presence within the world. Not only did I find many colleges and universities, but I found invaluable organizations like ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) and EdTech that were created to aid instructors in the area of educational technology.

I was amazed at the amount of tools and tutorials these organizations had available for those just starting in this virtual world. They also offered lectures and video tutorials on a daily basis to explain not only how to create, navigate, and establish a presence in Second Life, but how to enhance one’s educational technology skills in the real world classroom. It is easy to feel as if one is playing a game when starting in Second Life, but the real world quickly disappears and the virtual world draws the user into its realm.

Using VoiceThread to illustrate how Second Life works felt a bit limiting because this virtual world needs the sound, the animation, etc. to show what it is like to experience this world. I would have liked to actually take the viewer around and show them step by step how to start and then seamlessly navigate through the educational realms of this virtual world.

VoiceThread is a marvelous tool and can be used for many things. I enjoyed creating the presentation about Second Life, and this project urged me to dig deeper into the potential of using this tool with a real world classroom or as a virtual classroom. The possibilities are endless regarding the use of Second Life as a next generation educational tool. My exploration into this tool has not stopped here and I hope to use it continuously throughout my career.