Every year I take on a student teacher. I love it for several reasons. I enjoy flooding them with all sorts of  experiences and most of them just soak it up! Being placed with me is no cake walk though. I require full time teaching for several weeks with loads of technology integration, most of which they haven’t been exposed to in college. My student teachers have to learn Moodle (mostly on their own), blogging, email and all sorts of other web 2.0 tools. They should be using Twitter and Second Life for their own professional development, but those two I let slide a bit because they can become addicting (I would know!). All of these requirements gets added upon the normal expectations of a teacher. I am sure I overwhelm student teachers, but those that embrace it and dedicate themselves seem to bloom. I am witnessing that this semester. 

What I enjoy the most about student teachers is their willingness to take risks and not be bitter in the face of disinterested teenagers. Rather than complain and dismiss negative behavior, a good teacher will brainstorm ways to engage the learner. My current student teacher Heidi has really worked had to do this. She has designed round robin stations twice now. One of which, I would never have tried in fear of a disastrous mess. Despite my reservations, she went forth with bravery and caution and the students did not let her down. While I thought they would destroy part of my room or be disrespectful, they were engaged and reasonably careful with supplies. I was so glad she took the risk and saw positive results. We all know how it hurts when you put your heart out there only to have it crushed. That happens sometimes in teaching too and I glad she did not experience that (she spent a fair amount of time and money ensuring success).

Not everyone is a good fit for a student teacher. I think a good cooperating teacher needs to be up to date with current trends (or at least trying!) in education and technology integration. A cooperating teacher needs to think outside the box with how content is delivered and assessed. The days of having one or two preps with regulalry scheduled is ending, folks. For some people it ended years ago. Heidi has to to teach two grade levels in one hour, both groups having drastically different skills. She has had to teach two more English students individually, one during her study hall and the other during her prep period. Her regular sections of English have all been a challenge that has probably given her a lot to think about. Today’s teacher has so much to plan and consider when thinking about the tasks at hand. Neither of us will be totalling up the number of hours she spent preparing lessons, grading papers, or teaching herself web 2.0 tools, but I am sure she has worked well more than 50 hours a week for seven weeks straight. While this may seem a little much, a good cooperating teacher will not sugar coat the reality of teaching.

If you have not had a student teacher before and you have been teaching for a few years, consider having one. It is good for your outlook and well being. After watching Heidi I feel a little revived and inspired to take risks in the classroom. I feel like she is going to be a great teacher and while she was good before she entered my room, I feel like she has been exposed to some important tools that she can use to engage students. Think about having one — it’s very rewarding for both people involved.

Last night I was delighted to find two messages on my computer from coworkers that were sitting in Second Life, lost flying around aimlessly. I immediately dropped what I was doing, asked Brad to watch the kids, and launched SL. Luckily both people gave me their names so I could teleport them to ISTE Island. ISTE is a teacher island that’s a good place for newbies to travel.

My first friend was Arlene Hinchcliffe, a business teacher here at Seymour High School (Cindy Otto in real life). The poor gal was stuck at Help Island confused. Teleporting people off that, helps a lot when they go into SL alone. She did a great job flying, dancing, sitting, chatting, et cetera. My husband Brad jumped into SL as John Doomsdale to give Arlene someone other than me to talk to since ISTE was a ghost island. The photo here is of John and Arlene resting at ISTE island. While I do not think she’s hooked, she was a good sport for sure. 

Then an hour later another friend Amy sent me a message on Facebook saying she’s on and lost. I quickly hunted Gracelyn Abbot down and teleported her to ISTE, as a I did with Arlene. The funny part of about this meeting is that I didn’t look to see which Amy was in Second Life. For an hour I helped her work on her avatar, fly, sit, dance, and we even traveled to the Globe theatre on Renaissance island. I’m sure you’re wondering what we’re doing in the photograph. We’re dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. This morning I ran to school excited to ask Amy what she thought in person only to discover I spent the hour with someone else, a different Amy Dyer.

Last night I realized it is hard to teach someone how to use SL without sitting right next to them. I taught my husband how to use SL, but we were sitting on the couch together. The first thing newbies want to do is customize their avatar. I am still trying to decide if it’s better to just give newbies clothes or if I should take them shopping. I think next time I’ll take them shopping. I gave Gracelyn and Arlene items that I didn’t need, but that doesn’t always work well and it’s not teaching them to find things for themselves.

About an hour ago just today, John Steltz sent me a message saying that he got into SL last night as Urban Tremor and just flew around for a bit. He, like the others, still needs to customize his avatar. He expressed more frustration and he’s unsure if the time spent will be worth it. He just needs to give it time and go in there with people he knows in real life. I give John a ton of credit with professional technology development. He was unsure about Twitter, but has just embraced it with open arms. So maybe, just maybe…there’s hope for Urban Tremor to still thrive!

When I first started Second Life, I just made my avatar and left it alone for 4 months. When I returned later, I had a better sense. It’s that whole prior knowledge concept at work here. It will be the same for them. Now the next time they go in, they’ll be a little more successful as they learn new features and gain more skills.

What they might not realize is that anything new they can learn to manipulate online is transferable to other areas online as well. For example, learning to use Second Life might help them set up their own online banking accounts. It sounds like those two skills wouldn’t relate, but any time you learn to alter, customize, guess and click, you will be able to apply those experiences somewhere else.

Of course, this in turn helps us teach. We learn to play again. Much of our job has lost the play aspect and our personal lives are usually filled with watching our own kids play, not playing ourselves. This has helped me to think about what types of customizing and play can I bring into my classroom. I sure do wish I could take them to Second Life.

So in about four months I might pester Amy, Cindy, and John to see if they would like to teleport into Second Life with me. I’m certain their experience will be better and the learning will continue.

I thought I’d add a few pictures from my latest adventure in Second Life. Sometimes when I’m feeling bored, I’ll click “map” and zoom out to see where the people are. If I see a decent group, I’ll teleport there to see what I can learn.

While sometimes I find myself immediately teleporting back out, this time I found a keeper. It’s called “Runaround Sue’s.” It’s a 50’s dance Sim. There are friendly people and a ton of animations and poses. I did all sorts of cool dances from the era, read a book on a blanket, leaned on a pink Cadillac (next to an Elvis cutout), etc. — tons of fun. I was really impressed with this area. If you’re in Secondlife do a search for Runaround Sue’s.

This brings me to an observation. I enjoy learning in Second Life. I like the exploration sense of it and I often read, watch, meet, et cetera in a way that I hadn’t thought about before. I also have tremendous respect for the people that can build in Second Life. I have made one thing – a billboard with my son’s photograph. That’s an epic failure if you knew what other people can build.

Clearly with SL, patience is a virtue. I am willing to play online. There were days of accidentally ripping my hair off or putting on some horrendously trashy outfit in front of people. I’m still going to have those days, but I don’t panic anymore. It’s all for fun and the best part — I spend a ton of time with other teachers. Sometimes we take photographs to chuckle over later, which I enjoy very much. Here’s one where I’m dancing with Mo Hax (eck, there are pics of me dancing with another man in Second Life — the scandal!) and here I am just hanging out talking.  I have at my fingertips dozens of teachers that I’ve friended, all of which have different experiences than mine, yet are loaded with fantastic ideas. Second Life has really given me a fantastic network.

As an educator I try to practice what I preach — continue learning, regardless of age of unfamiliarity. I also realize as a teacher I have to constantly experiment with different technologies if I even want to attempt to keep up with my students. This is where Second Life comes in.

Me Riding a Horse, Of Course!

Probably two years ago I read about people raving over Second Life. I thought, “That’s sound freaky – I can’t manage my first life. Why would I want another!” Then of course I had some strange assumptions that it would lead to a bizarre and embarrassing hobby if anyone found out.  I dismissed it all.

This summer at NECC I visited the Second Life Playground. Since it was my objective to soak up everything I possibly could, I figured I would give it a try. I made an account and saw my avatar. I ended up putzing for a few minutes and leaving on to the next session.

Me attending a Large Group Discussion on SL

Then this fall I saw on Twitter people would occasionally post that something great was happening in Second Life. Ejulez and KJarrett were especially helpful at Tweeting about Second Life events. Eventually, my memory was jogged enough to remember that I had an account. I teleported to ISTE Island where I was greeted by several people, all of which have some occupation in education. Within seconds I was networking with other professionals and gathering new inspiration.

I’m not a gamer. I never was hooked to Nintendo  the way my younger brother was. I never would have guessed this was something I would be interested in. Even when I first started Second Life I would get motion sick ot until I  finally learned to not move around too much. Soon I ventured off ISTE to gather free clothes, hair, objects, et cetera. Customizing my avatar has been a blast because I can be whoever I want. About a month ago in real life, I was scooping horse manure from a stall. At 7:30 that same night in Second Life, I was in a golden ball gown. Ha!

Because my poor husband has married me for better or worse, I harassed him into making an avatar (John Doomsdale) and teleporting to ISTE with me. I doubt he is as hooked as I am, but he did entertain me by chatting with others and even doing a group dance to Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal.” The only other sucker I could drag into Second Life with me was Katie Grassel (Sledder Wheland), my partner in Educational Technology pursuits. She has made an avatar and we have enjoyed our time on ISTE or freebie shopping together. 

This past week has been enlightening. I attended a large group discussion on the benefits of networking in Second Life (for educators). My computer nearly locked up as there so many people present (50 plus!). It was fascinating. Now I am exploring the Reaction Grid. Basically, it is a simplified version of Second Life with adequate controls. There I met a teacher that is having her students create buildings between two Sims. The kids are building all sorts of really difficult structures and loving it. Did I forget to mention that they are in 8th grade?! If you are in the Reaction Grid, do a search for Michigan Pioneers.

Me in Second Life by the Shoreline

So where will this take me? Who knows. I stop by ISTE every night just to see if there is something new I can learn or meet someone new. I almost always do. Some times I engage in conversation with someone across the globe. Other times they are in Wisconsin (Ashwaubenon, matter of fact!). I have been given loads of inspiration and delight and I am looking forward to continuing my experiment. Tonight I spent some time chatting with folks while floating on an intertube. We discussed ways to implement staff development school wide. Neat huh? It is to me.