This document discusses the differences between teaching online/blended courses versus teaching in Second Life, and implications for teacher training. Teaching in Second Life requires synchronous interaction with student avatars, managing one's own avatar, teaching tools, and student avatars. It also requires new skills like building, scripting, and using educational tools available in Second Life. Teacher training would need to cover technical skills for navigating, managing profiles and inventory in Second Life as well as communication, building, and use of educational tools. The document raises questions around whether older students would also be interested in learning in virtual worlds like Second Life.

1. Teaching in SL vs. Teaching
online/blended courses:
Implications for Teacher Training
Dafne Daf
Gonzalez Smirnov
Languagelab.com
USB

2. SL vs. Web 2.0 teaching and learning
Are they different?
• My experience:
since 2002 blended & online
since 2007 – SL
• Actual teaching
• Planning process
• Materials design
• Social aspect of teaching

3. Actual teaching
Blended & Online Second Life
-Content to be •Synchronous
•Synchronous taught •Taking care of:
-Methodology •own avatar (skills
teachers should
-Mediating master)
•Asynchronous
tools • teaching tools
•students avatars
-Promote
•Sound
interaction •SL platform

4. Planning Process
Blended & Online Second Life
-Teacher-centered planning
•Everything available to Stds.
“… students will ….”
(autonomy):
(expected actions)
•Instructions:
•What to do Structured
- What the teacher will be
•Where to post Lesson doing
•Student-centered LPs planning
“….you will be able to….”

5. Materials Design
- New tools: challenge
•Materials and (basic building and
•Web 2.0 tools easily tools needed scripting skills)
available online •Free and paid - Experts needed to
services create materials
•Teacher-made
- Photoshop skills for
materials textures

6. Social aspect of teaching
Blended & Online Second Life
•Interaction with people •Interaction with avatars
•Real names • names
•Photos Interaction • look
•Webcams Real voice • gender
•video

7. Learning in SL?
Also a challenge for students:
• Aware of own skills to be able to follow the pace of the
class
• Challenge of new language
Motivation:
• Good for shy ones
• Motivating for youngsters –used to environment
– virtual games (digital natives)
• Total immersion without leaving home
Question:
Will not so young people consider SL for learning?

8. Implications for Teacher Training?

9. Personal Skills
1. Desktop Management
2. SL profile
3. Navigation
4. Library
5. Changing appearance
6. Gestures /Animations
7. Pie Menu
8. Inventory management

10. Communication Skills
1. Sound / Voice
2. Chat & Ims
3. Notecards

11. Building & Scripting Skills
1. Moving objects
2. Creating objects
3. Editing scripts

12. Using Educational Tools
1. Projectors &
Readers
2. Givers
3. Poll & Quiz
creators
4. Time Takers
5. Turn managers
6. Games

13. Using Voice Recordings
1. Recording
2. Playing
in-world

14. Conclusions and Thanks!
What conclusions would you draw from
this presentation?
The floor is yours!
Thanks for your attention!

15. SLanguages 2008
This presentation was given at
SLanguages 2008
The Conference for Language
Education in Virtual Worlds
slanguages.net