January 2008 Volunteer Profile
 Kevin Jarrett
ISTE Second Life Speaker Series Chair
Kevin Jarrett, a K-4 Technology Facilitator and part-time instructor for Walden University, found his volunteer calling as part of ISTE’s Second Life initiative. He was part of a group of educators that responded to ISTE’s electronic call for virtual volunteers in February 2007. “ISTE’s entry into Second Life has been an enormous help to me personally and professionally,” he explains. “I began exploring Second Life as part of a Faculty Excellence grant I received from Walden in March of 2007. ISTE’s Second Life initiative made my exploration easy and fun. ISTE HQ quickly became a magnet for educators worldwide to gather, share ideas, help each other, and build lasting, real-life relationships.”
As an ISTE volunteer, Kevin helped organize our Second Life Docents program, a group of people who “staff” our Second Life HQ throughout the day and night, answering visitor questions, providing helpful information, and promoting membership in ISTE (both in Second Life and the “real world.”) Kevin adds, “To me, best part about volunteering for ISTE in Second Life has been the relationships. It’s neat to bump into Kathy Schrock, David Warlick, Doug Johnson, or Ferdi Serim in-world but it’s even cooler to build lasting, personal friendships with educators from my area (and beyond!).”
In addition to volunteering as an ISTE Docent, Kevin was part of the team at NECC 2007 that presented the Second Life Playground, and is currently helping manage the ISTE Second Life Speaker Series - in-world presentations by educators on a range of topics. “I can’t thank ISTE enough for everything they’ve done for me. For every ounce of personal effort I’ve expended, I’ve received a pound of professional value. Thanks ISTE!
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