Presenting about Second Life - Necessary?

July 2nd, 2008 Posted in Uncategorized

It seems that Japan is about 5 years away from recognizing the power of 3D virtual worlds to teach languages. It’s hard enough getting the faculty of the university to accept the ancient world  of CALL. I know that computer technology in the English classroom is something like accepting the TV in the home 50 years ago, but thinking we can actually get virtual worlds to connect with students as one fluid environment is pretty heavy. I’ve been very lucky to have had the chancce to experiement with Facebook and Skype in the classroom, as well as introducing the world of Second Life on a basic level, and it seems to me that neither the students nor the faculty are even close to being ready for such a jump.

I would say 50 percent of my students would rather not use technology in the classroom to study English. I haven’t collected all of the data yet, but if my hunch is correct, I expect them to say that using computers is barrier to improving English. It’s like having to learn to fly a plane in order to get a job flipping hamburgers in the next state.

So is it necessary for me to present on the benefits of using Second Life in the English classroom when most students don’t even like using computers? Why introduce something so advanced when we don’t even have acceptance on something so archaic as CALL?

Technology is a tool. We don’t need to improve if no one is even using it. Back to the drawing board; PowerPoint anyone?

  1. One Response to “Presenting about Second Life - Necessary?”

  2. By JP DuQuette on Jul 6, 2008

    You know, it all depends on the class you get. My near-fluent students in my soon-to-be-transferred to an American university class could log-in and do things in SL, but felt the whole environment pointless. And for them, it probably was, as they’re all off to the States. On the other hand, my class of intermediate level international relations majors enjoys our after class time in SL, and it has brought the class closer together as a group as well. But then again, they were the ones who requested more freestyle speaking activities in a rather too textbook-centered class.

    Would I try with my lowest level class? Not a chance. But think of all the poor saps paying good money for those video cams and headsets at AEON/ECC so they can practice English conversation at home, when they could just as easily log in to SL and practice for free. I’m going to propose an Internet English class at my uni next year, which should draw motivated students, and we’ll see how that goes…

Post a Comment