The listed advantages of using Second Life include simulation, modeling, data visualization, and virtual field trips. After reviewing one particular area, I can say that this is true. It did take some time to figure out how to find educational places to visit. I had to go back to the SL site to find them, after having no success using the search option within SL. I finally figured out how to get to a place called Genome, which sounded relevant to the subject that I teach. I got a free T-shirt, too, which I eventually figured out how to put on! http://slurl.com/secondlife/Genome/130/130/48
The Genome location is amazing! A considerable amount of effort has been put into the place (built by Texas Weslayan U) and it is definitely designed to teach students. I flew over to Mendel's garden and explored activities there. I felt that the Mendel pea experiments were a bit confusing unless the students read the the instructions very carefully. There were also slideshows of genetics concepts. I flew over to a protein synthesis activity, which was informative, but too complex for my audience. There was a video to watch there, but I could not figure out how to get it to play. I next visited a cell and was able to click on different organelles and read about their function. The graphic and detail of cell model left a bit to be desired. I also visited a DNA tower that had stations to review the history of DNA and famous experiments. At the top, is all 23 human chromosomes and when you click on each one, a notecard explains certain disorders that are found on that chromosome.
Overall, I think that this is an interesting way to engage students! Will I use this site as a teaching tool??? I might use the cell site as an opener or closer to a lesson about cells. I think that students may want to explore this site on their own time if they are interested in genetics. They can use this as an extension activity for review and further depth. I think that it will be too difficult for me to guide them through the activities without a significant time investment on my part to figure everything out.
No comments:
Post a Comment