NECC - Monday 6/30, part 1

Orientation:
I left early, I liked the part about the maps and the guy there was funny for 7:15 AM. I think they hired an actor/comedian and gave him a script or else he has a side job at corporate parties.

Professional Learning Networks in Second Life:

You may recall my wicked kung fu from January. TIES' Second Life space is growing, we have a more permanent building but we just don't know how to develop the community we are looking for. This session is from a group of educators that created DEN, the Discovery Educator Network. It's exactly what it sounds like, a network of teachers in SL collaborating.

What I like: people doing what we are hoping to accomplish in SL. There are people behind me that are a part of Lighthouse Learing Island (Kathy Schrock's area). I want to talk more with them.

What I didn't: Not much on the how. I want to know more about how they are doing professional development. I agree with what they said, you need a little time to play, to learn how to operate in SL, but what I wanted was to know more about a formal structure of how they are meeting in SL. Meeting times, locations, how to set up a classroom or meeting space?

A Dork in Second Life

TIES is getting a presence in Second Life. We have purchased a plot of land through ISTE on ISTE Island 2. Here I am hovering over it.

That's me, TC Kungfu, you can see the meditation treehouse on the left and behind the tree on the right is a bench swing that, for some reason, puts two people on top of each other when they both try to sit there. Kinda inappropriate, especially for an educational venue but those aren't actually on our property, just next to it.

So Dork, you might ask, what are you going to do with the space. Awesome stuff only, I say. We expect awesome meeting places, presentations, demonstrations, musical performances, dazzling technological displays, light shows, fireworks, hookers, fire trucks ... well maybe not all that. We'll probably keep it educationally oriented.

We expect to begin construction sometime in the near future. Til then, enjoy watching my awesome Kung Fu skills. Did I overuse the awesome word "awesome"?