ISTE Eduverse Talks Appearance!

I hope you can join us in Second Life this next Tuesday, June 9, as my avatar sits down at 5 pm SLT on stage with those of Peggy Sheehy, Marianne Malmstrom, Andy Wheelock and host Kevin Jarrett to talk about the impact of Second Life and ISTE on my "real life." In the live talk show, ISTE Eduverse Talks, you'll likely hear me say that Second Life, for me, isn't a "second life," but rather a fun and exciting extension of my only life into another realm. I've made dear friends, whom I see admittedly more often than I see my "real world" friends, and I've shuttled  some of those friendships over into "real life" to become colleagues and collaborators in ways that would never have thrived as they have, not even been possible, without Second Life.

A couple summers ago, David Warlick, kindly Skyping in for a talk with a group of teachers I was leading into Web 2.0, made the statement: "Scott and I aren't friends because of our geographical proximity, we're friends because of what we think." I'll always cherish that concept, and it goes a long way toward explaining the draw of Second Life, Twitter, and any other tool I can use to network with innovative and technology savvy educators. Life(s) is good.

Location: ISTE Broadcast Studio: 
http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISTE%20Island%203/197/238/23

I hope you'll come to see and hear what I know will be a fascinating hour. Here's a pic from the most recent episode of the show (sponsored by Hewlett-Packard and ISTE and produced in collaboration with the Second Life Cable Network!):

Now I have to go shopping for professional virtual clothes. I don't think my medieval knight's cape or my MUVErs scrubs will do the trick!

Kevin, oh, Kevin, is at it again!

He's one of my several idols.

Yes, I confess: I idolize educators who can manage to contribute in an ongoing way to the understanding of our profession as a positive force in the world.

Kevin Jarrett's blog post today is thought-provoking and reflective, just what I need as I work to rebound from a nasty cold. Not only that, he took the time to send me an email (interrupting my grant-writing work, but happily) to say "Smile! Your on my blog," referring to the great little pic of me with some of my new friends, posed in the midst of the Second Life Lounge at NECC2008. I'm crouching behind, from left to right, Megan Deana, Jeremy Koester, Peggy Sheehy, and Claudia L'Amoreaeux (Coreina Grace, Jeremy Braver, Maggie Marat, and Claudia Linden if you're looking for them in Second Life).



Amidst all life's changes, friends endure. Kev, I'm also looking forward to the summer of 2009. Speaking of which, I'd better get back to my grant-writing!

Cheers from (finally!) rainy Tennessee!!

Epic 2015

David Warlick and Kevin Jarrett put together what must've been a stellar experience for "mostly ed administrators" built around a 2005 video from the Museum of Media History. I saw this video at an Ian Jukes presentation a couple years ago at a NECC, I believe in San Diego, and lost its location. It's so thought provoking, as is David's blogpost here, as well as Kevin's collection of them here, that I just have to share it all out. To get you into your weekend, or whatever day it is (thanks to the asynchronous magic of blogs:), give it a watch. What do you think?

Epic2015 from AlbinoBlackSheep

Tons of Photos from a NY meetup on the Second Life Teen Grid Work!

Thanks to Kevin Jarrett, tons of pics from his work this past week with Bernajean Porter, Peggy Sheehy and Marianne Malmstrom on a variety of projects in the Second Life Teen Grid. At TAIS I had a number of educators ask me what's going on with Second Life. Here's a set of things, most certainly.

Go see 'em at a flickr slideshow!