students in OpenSim, this is what it’s all about at i live in science land

students in OpenSim, this is what it’s all about

with many people leaving (fleeing) Second Life, their search for a good alternative and the subsequent choice, by some, to use OpenSim helps to propel OpenSim forward. a few days ago i mentioned the Gartner Hype Cycle’s Slope of Enlightenment and educators moving OpenSim forward, and that is what this blog post highlights today

clcick to see the three students working

one middle school tech coordinator’s use of OpenSim to allow students to express how they would build communities really touched me

the tech coordinator seems to be pretty passionate because not only did they set this all up but they also used Geologic Survey maps to create their region terrains

the students worked in groups and one group did an energy build (Ener-gy Certified!) and even made their wind turbines purple! (saves the bats ya know! and thank a bat for the fruit you eat, they pollinate as much as bees do) =)

building virtual communities brings in it all types of learning activities and what a great use of virtual worlds and one that would likely not have happened in Second Life because of cost, accessibility (like firewall ports), and privacy

OpenSim just makes sense for this type of teaching – you don’t need shops and clubs (good Lord, let some real 14 year-olds loose in a popular SL club and they would freak at how lame some adults are that are pretending to be cool and young! *not that Ener ever hung out at SL clubs with lame outfits, but maybe some nice Zhao shoes and Curious Kitties hair*) =D

a big hooray for Erik for setting it all up so that students can express themselves in such a creative way and for being enlightened enough himself to want to bring learning to life for his students!

this is indeed another step on the Slope of Enlightenment for virtual worlds =)

written by Ener Hax

January 8th, 2011 at 4:13 pm

posted in OpenSim,virtual worlds

tagged with open blackboard

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8 Jan 11 at 5:03 pm

Oh, this is excellent! Congrats my little one on affecting people in this world (certainly have been a ray of sunshine in mine).

Erik’s post is a lovely one and it speaks to his love for education that he not only made it happen, but that he also heralded their work.

American education needs more people like him.

Nicely done Ener and not surprising to me at all (remember your high school physics lab partner and setting his own hair on fire with the Bunsen burner? Polar opposite of you).

David Miller

8 Jan 11 at 10:02 pm

Thank you, Ener and David, for the thoughtful words! It’s absolutely true that OpenSimulator is the right platform for educational projects. Aside from the cost (only blood, sweat, and tears if you run it on your own network) I’ve learned that it is extremely adaptable which has allowed me to set up different configurations depending on the nature of the project. It took a year to figure out what I have but it’s been time well spent. One student in this group said it was the best course she’s ever taken! I guess it’s all downhill from there for me.

Erik N

8 Jan 11 at 10:46 pm

[...] and students to go beyond passive observation and enter the creative realm offered by OpenSim (great post by Ener about one tech coordinator bringing OpenSim to [...]

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25 Jan 11 at 11:21 pm

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25 Jan 11 at 11:29 pm

I used OpenSim a few years ago with my Grade 6 IT class. Had some support from OSGrid people, but not enough perhaps. We used regions given to us by others, and our primary region disappeared with a lot of student work. Long Live (the original) HippoCampus.

Good news, I am working on doing this at my new school on the LAN.

It’s about time Open Sim _really_ started to reach out to educational institutions– we need more clear install instructions, more guarantee of all-ages regions, and maybe even curriculum support material for teachers who might need it.

THERE IS benefit of profit to be made from this- consultants and support could be used to assist, appropriate advertising in exchange for free region-hosting with guarantee of resources being stored, as well as moodle-support!