You are invited to a Faculty Showcase event on Oct 18, 2013 at noon on the topic of Teaching in the Virtual World of Second Life. The event is sponsored by Instructional Technologies Support (ITS). Our featured speaker is Ms. Julia Meritt who envisioned her pre-service student teachers practicing classroom management skills in a virtual setting. Her vision was realized in the virtual world of Second Life, with the help of ITS Media Consultant Salwa Khan and Emin Saglamer who heads the ITS Research and Development team.
Meritt is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at Texas State University, who teaches undergraduate courses.
It took almost eight months from the first moment of inspiration to the day in February 2013 when Meritt’s students assembled in a computer lab where they entered the virtual world in avatar form to play their parts as teachers and students.
Much of the time was needed to construct the virtual classroom, the child avatars and the misbehaviors that the children would exhibit. This was the task of Emin Saglamer and his Research & Development team. Saglamer will co-present with Ms. Meritt and take questions on the use of Second Life as a teaching and learning platform.
In this session, Meritt and Saglamer will detail the challenges faced during the project, from curriculum design issues to how to dress the child avatars. Following the presentation, you will have an opportunity to ask questions about the project.
This is a brown bag event, so bring your lunch. Water, soft drinks and sweet and salty snacks will be provided. Plan to arrive by 11:45am or earlier as the program will begin promptly at noon.
