August 2007 — News
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The Teen Grid: Bringing Your School into Second Life
Also, she pointed out, electronic communication is a natural for today's students, who reach for a cell phones as soon as the school day is over, and who routinely study or play with multiple Internet sites open.
Getting up and Running
Suffern was the first middle school in Second Life, Sheehy said, and she has lately been inundated with questions from other schools who are interested.
Getting initial funding wasn't a challenge at Suffern because of a receptive administration. For schools that might not be as fortunate, Sheehy suggested anticipating common questions with prepared answers: How will student safety be addressed, for example, what will students learn, and what sort of bandwidth will be needed.
For schools concerned about the computers needed to run Second Life, Sheehy said that the Second Life client itself is quite small. Bandwidth, however, can be an issue with schools that don't have access to broadband connectivity. In preparing proposals and working to convince administrators, it helps that Second Life is increasingly being recognized for its potential as a serious learning environment, Sheehy said, rather than a game.
Sheehy initially purchased three private islands. Having exhausted her budget on the land purchase, Sheey "shamelessly" asked volunteers within Second Life for help building structures and services for the islands. Some 175 people eventually pitched in; structures were built outside the island and then moved, since volunteers can't access the Suffern area. Sheehy also successfully moved about Second Life from time to time looking for items that the islands could use, then asked owners to donate.
For teachers interested in getting started, Sheehy said, projects such as Global Kids' Digital Media Initiative are starting to offer curriculum ideas specific to Second Life. And once a teacher joins Second Life, which is free, there are lists available specifically for educators, such as a teenage educator list, a math educator list, and much more.
Read More:
- Teen Second Life
- Contact Peggy Sheehy
- Sheehy's blog on launching the Second Life project
- Suffern Middle School
READ MORE FEATURES AND CASE STUDIES
About the author: Linda L. Briggs is a freelance writer based in San Diego, CA.
Proposals for articles and tips for news stories, as well as questions and comments about this publication, should be submitted to David Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.
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