Virtual Experience

As part of my preparation to enter the world of EdTech, I joined Second Life. It's been quite a learning experience. I pretty much hang out in educational regions (mostly ISTE Island) where I've met other educators who use technology.
This evening, I was part of a tour of a teaching hospital designed for medical students/interns. It was neat to see all that they had created for simulations. I was part of a surgery, sat in a delivery room bath, and even operated a mammogram machine. Talk about attention to detail, there were even hand-washing stations!

It was a bit cumbersome with 20 other avitars on the tour. With a slow connection and computer, I spent a lot of time bumping into walls, and having my view blocked by other people or equipment I couldn't get around. Getting around Second Life is like learning to walk and talk again. The tour guide did have a voice system, so I could just listen.

I know some of the classes I would take for the M.E.T. actually take place in SL. I'm a little excited. I'm glad that one requirement is that the students should have about 20 hours of SL experience. I've still got some work to do.

One thing I found is that there are a lot of very nice people who hang out in SL. Other educators and students! I've met and made friends with several. They've helped me with changing my avitar's appearance, and teleporting from place to place. Some people I've talked to in Real Life, are skeptical about SL. They think it's just for gaming and less moral activities. But, just like Real Life, there's no limit to what you can do in SL. I've found a couple of places that hold actual ESL classes! Native teachers meet with students around the world and hold English classes.

The more I learn about new technology, the more excited I'm getting about getting my M.E.T. Here are some screenshots from the tour.

Lying on an examination table in the ER.


Washing my hands.


Getting an x-ray.