Global Kids' Digital Media Initiative

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life, where I sat on a panel alongside a number people that had a good amount of experience utilizing Second Life to support not for profit missions. I had about 5 minutes to say what I had to say, and was asked to specifically speak to common pitfalls that educators entering SL might make. During my preparatory brainstorm, I came up with two core points: Don't replicate broken pedagogies in a virtual space, and start thinking like a designer.

In a recent thread on the Second Life Educators (SLED) listserve, a heated debate occurred about the idea of spaces designed for education. Many were of the camp that any kind of space within the virtual world (and without) could be used for education, be it a dance club, an "adult" oriented island or traditional lecture hall. On the other end of things were people that believed that the best education happens in spaces that are intentionally created for the explicit purpose of education, rather than those that are created for another use and then appropriated by an educator that can leverage spaces to teach.

While much can (and was) said about this topic, the one thing I noticed was the way that those that hailed more designed learning experiences were somehow treated as "close-minded traditionalists" and those that argued that any kind of space, be it intended for education or otherwise, could be utilized for learning seemed to be taking the "progressive educator" high ground in the argument. I was struck by this largely because of my experience with those thinking about games and learning, where designed education is hailed for it's ability to effectively scaffold and provide "just in time" learning.

In my own comments about educators thinking like designers, I can now reflect that what I was really referring to was the ability of educators to think outside the confines of the both the physical as well as mental classroom. To explore limitless possibilities in utilizing the incredible resources that are now at hand to support education, whether it be in creating a space that allows for certain types of interactions to occur, or exposing them to ones that we'd never be able to create as individuals.