Sara Said:

virtual learning environments?

We Answered:

I am so not qualified to answer any of your questions...

I did look around the Second Life website to find some helpful links to post but they have recently changed the website and I can't find the old helpful links that might have offered you some advice on how to find information to get you started. The only one I could find is rather generic: http://education.secondlife.com/getstart…

You work with students in the 16-18 year range. Teen SL accommodates 13-17 year olds. The main grid is for persons 18/+ in age. Linden Lab is adamant about keeping the children separated from the adults and they adhere to the 18th birthday benchmark. That is a big consideration to keep in mind. The lessons are the same in each grid but it will most likely require you to have a presence in both the teen and main grid to teach a class that includes students under the age of 18 along with students that have reached their 18 birthday.

Try this link: If you do not have a Second Life account, then please email business@lindenlab.com.

Hardware and software specs can be found here: http://secondlife.com/support/system-req…

The other questions are too very specific. *I* am not a consultant. It seems that you are. You might best be served by creating an account on Second Life and investigating your questions from within SL or its own forums.

Good luck with your endeavors. The students you serve will probably benefit from the experience if it is offered to them.

Pamela Said:

What are the Disadvantages and advantages of VLE's Virtual Learning Environments?

We Answered:

advantage : any time Anywhre
disadvanatage : personal touch missing

Gregory Said:

Learning Environment?

We Answered:

Isn't virtual education what we do in an on-line (Internet) course? Authentic would then be a regular classroom.

Nathaniel Said:

How do you deal with inappropriate behaviour on line?

We Answered:

Mostly I just laugh about it. I mean it's generally pretty pathetic, isn't it?

Gina Said:

As a classroom teacher, what are some assistive technologies one could offer to gifted students?

We Answered:

My school does Podcasting. It is relatively old stuff, but easy for the students to work on. It is basically Powerpoint but for a Mac. It is done using Garage band program. Using this, students can do book reviews, talk about a project they're working on, or simply tell a story. Music can be added to the narration. This is for an elementary school.

For older students, why not give them a camcorder and have them do their own News cast of events around the school. They can edit the clips and share it with the school, assuming your school has close circuit TV. If not just do it for a class. Videos always seem fun to do.

It is sad that the gifted program was cut. In the U.S. we spend more money on special education than for gifted and talented students. And perhaps it is no wonder many of our brightest students are dropping out of school.

Heidi Said:

What common problems do student face within Virtual learning environments?

We Answered:

As in taking online courses? Well, there's no one on one with the teacher for one thing. You can e-mail them, but they can't help you with every little thing. You're doing a lot of self-teaching with online courses, which could be a possible second problem. Then there could also be the problem of falling behind if you're not motivated enough or because you don't have the teacher reminding you every day "okay, don't forget about the test this friday!", etc. You get the idea.