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21 Apr 08
After a long day of work in the La Porte school district, technology guru Jamey Osborne can't wait to get home and delve into his "Second Life."
His computer transports him — or at least a 3-D representation of him that's noticeably younger and hipper — to a peaceful yacht club where he chats with friends. When he's done sailing, his so-called avatar might attend a musical concert or a seminar about how to better use technology in public school classrooms.-
After a long day of work in the La Porte school district, technology guru Jamey Osborne can't wait to get home and delve into his "Second Life."
His computer transports him — or at least a 3-D representation of him that's noticeably younger and hipper — to a peaceful yacht club where he chats with friends. When he's done sailing, his so-called avatar might attend a musical concert or a seminar about how to better use technology in public school classrooms.
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At least 5,500 of the residents are educators who envision ways that this virtual world might enrich teaching and training opportunities in schools worldwide. They've built school, library and university facilities in Second Life, including an island specifically for K-12 teachers. Another 5,500 participants are 13- to 17-year-olds, who are restricted to a newer area of Second Life.
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In the virtual world, teachers can attend professional development sessions without costly registration fees or travel expenses
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"The average classroom teacher here in Texas has enough to worry about with the TAKS exam without buying islands out in virtual space," said Richard Smith, a visiting assistant professor of instructional technology at University of Houston-Clear Lake.
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"The desktop requirements for Second Life are quite robust and the bandwidth it takes up is quite significant," said Chris Duke
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"A lot of the conversations revolve around fear — if we open this stuff up to the kids, it could get out of hand or you could open the kids up to danger," said Stephanie Sandifer, a literacy coach at Houston's Waltrip High School who uses Second Life as a professional development tool.
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"We can't keep lining them up in rows and giving them standardized tests and then putting them in a work force that demands creativity," Sheehy said.
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"The level of discourse is just much deeper and much more open because the kids have a semblance of anonymity. No one knows who the popular kids are, who has the best clothes," Sheehy said. "The level of success we've experienced has far surpassed what we expected."
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Today's teachers, the same ones who watched the Internet evolve, should know that they need to embrace this technology, proponents say. Even 10 years ago, it was tough to encourage teachers to incorporate the Web into their lessons.
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"Something that is that compelling, education cannot ignore, even though it doesn't make sense to us," said David Warlick, an education consultant and author from North Carolina. "What I look forward to is someone building an environment like this for education, where it becomes a sandbox for kids."
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