Student participation in the virtual world has proven to be engaging and accommodates many learning styles in a differentiated, rigorous approach to simulation, role-playing, content creation, problem solving, critical thinking and collaboration. Most importantly, students take ownership of their learning and are invested in the outcomes and their real world applications.
The team process of designing and creating a virtual presence for your educational institution, the development of authentic, experiential, standard-based curriculum, and implementing it with students in Teen Second Life addresses all of the NETS for administrators, teachers and students and is an innovative approach to establishing a collaborative and all-inclusive learning community.
Focusing on the process of developing constructivist learning in the virtual world, Sheehy will present the steps her teachers have taken this second year of teaching in Ramapo Islands on Teen Second life to translate their content into the virtual landscape. She will outline the best practices that have evolved as a result and the student responses to this 21st century pedagogical shift.
