The Teen Second Life Culture Project
Hello Everyone! Like Cari, I elected to make a submission to the UBC Global Minds Challenge as my venture pitch. I’ve included a brief project description and two videos that might interest you. For more information see the link to the project website.
The Teen Second Life Culture Project was an exciting and unique learning adventure taught within a 3D online world. Students from two Regina Public Schools used their research skills to study various world cultures through seven common cultural patterns: economic, political, kinship, artistic, religious, educational, and recreation and play. Learners then represented their new knowledge by designing and editing objects and land plots to reflect the cultures’ way of life. Students interacted with one another by using avatars in role-playing activities. Guest presenters with specialized knowledge were invited to the virtual world from distant locations to share their insights with the learners.
Students also used blogs to record and present their research in addition to sharing images from their virtual land plots. Readers commented on the blog entries, sometimes offering advice and new information to the students. At the end of the unit, students were charged with the task of creating a multimedia project depicting what a typical day would be like for their assigned culture. The student work is spectacular!
In addition to the knowledge and content learned through this project, students demonstrated sensitivity toward, and an appreciation for, all cultural groups. These values and attitudes are important due not only to the multicultural nature of Canadian society, but also because we aim for our students to be leaders in global citizenship.
To learn more about the Teen Second Life Culture Project and to discover the pedagogical possibilities of virtual worlds, please visit our comprehensive project website at: http://tinyurl.com/slculture
If you are pressed for time and only have a few minutes to learn about the Teen Second Life Culture Project, we recommend that you visit the following links; however, we are willing to bet that once you’ve had a chance to learn a little, you’ll want to learn more!
Teen Second Life at Regina Public Schools – 3 minute video
“A Day in the Life of” student made videos: http://sites.google.com/a/go.rbe.sk.ca/tsl-grade-8-culture-project-2008/student-work/a-day-in-the-life-of-videos—macneill
3 comments
1 Omar Ramroop { 11.26.09 at 12:49 pm }
Absolutely phenomenal, Erik.
What an experience it must have been for all those students. That is something that they will remember for a very long time and the way it was framed was highly productive.
Kudos to you and your team!
– Omar
2 Cari Wilson { 11.26.09 at 8:23 pm }
Wow, Erik! This is a really cool project – I’m amazed at the work that has gone into it!
Congratulations – and best of luck in the competition 😉
Cari
3 Barrie Carter { 11.28.09 at 4:46 pm }
Hello Erik:
Wow! What a novel educational move. The students must have had quite the experience, not to mention the amount of time, effort, and learning that went into the project.
And, MACs! How did that happen? At my school, we are still using seven year old Dell desktop PCs. The monitors appear older, too!
Indeed, I would like to witness such technology in the school district where I teach.
Best to you and to your students in the competition!
Cheers,
Barrie
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