11.15.06
More on Virtual Classrooms and Schools
Here is an interview with the CIO of the FLVS - Florida Virtual School, servicing 31,000 students with online courseware:
Our students say the biggest advantages are that they have control over the amount of time needed to master material, they have a more one-on-one relationship with their teachers, and they have control over when they want to work on their course. Some students will learn better online, others will learn better in a traditional format. The beauty is that the student can make that choice.
Also, more information is being pointed out to me regarding the Massive Multiplayer Worlds in Education subject, again regarding Second Life. eSchoolNews Online has an article regarding Second Life :
A main draw for educators in using Second Life is the improvement in interaction and expression when compared with programs such as distance-education courses. “I think that is one of the things that’s so attractive to educators using Second Life,” says Linden Lab community developer Claudia L’Amoreaux, or Claudia Linden as she is known within Second Life. “The quality of interaction is hard to even describe. It doesn’t replace face to face, but it does enable working with people all over the world.”
The article also points out the existence of a PG rated Second Life version, Teen Second Life, which is more education-appropriate in theme and content. The article also says the Linden Lab will often donate free land to educators for a trial course.
Despite Second Life’s immense popularity, the appropriateness of its content for students is an issue. As with the web itself, there is a range of seedy activity available to users: Gambling, stripping, and virtual prostitution are easy to find if you look for them. Partially because of that, Linden Lab has set up a teen version of the world, known as Teen Second Life.
Teen Second Life, or TSL, is arranged in the same fashion as the adult version, although there is only PG-rated material available in it. The world is restricted to teens ages 13-17, and all adults other than Linden Lab employees are banned from entering the main island in the world.