Blog Reflection

When I first read that I was required to write a blog for the length of this course, I didn’t understand the purpose or usefulness of this activity. After writing this blog for the last few months, I can say that I have changed my mind.

I learned from writing this blog that blogging is much harder than it looks. It also helps to have a topic that you are passionate about, or at least interested in, for your blog to be successful. I found that writing about a specific topic gave me a challenge to not only provide useful links but at the same time these links needed to be interesting to my readers. Having to blog about a specific topic was a challenge in itself when trying to think of all the different possible angles that could relate to that topic. I think I was fortunate in my choice of topics in that they were interesting.

I had never heard of clickers before this assignment and found learning about them fascinating. Searching the internet for topics was often a chore and I found myself talking to other people about angles that I might not have thought of. In this way, blogging caused me to talk with others and engage them when I often wouldn’t have bothered before.

With Second Life, I found the topic to be much larger than I expected. I thought Second Life was just an online video game that a lot of people played. It is not something I would have even considered being a part of until I started learning more about it. The first time (and only time) someone from outside the class posted a comment to my blog I was surprised at how significant this was to me. Granted she only looked at my blog because I linked information from hers but still it was a milestone for me.

What can I do to improve my blogging? The first thing I need to do is spend more time writing on it and checking for comments. I found time for my blog only after all of my other class work was taken care of for the week. I don’t think I gave my blog the priority that it deserved. The second thing I could do to improve my blog would be to provide a wider variety of information sources. In the beginning, I usually only linked to articles or other websites that contained information on my topics. As the semester wore on though, I found that I became more creative in my choice of links. Continuing this creativity would certainly help keep my blog fresh.

As it stands today, I wouldn’t mind putting my blog address on my resume for potential employers to read; it certainly wouldn’t hurt my job chances and it might actually help. I think this is one way that blogging can be helpful to someone who is looking for a job; blog about information that would be useful in your job and show your potential employers that you know a lot about that topic.

Now that the semester is ending, I have to answer the question of whether or not to keep on blogging. I have mixed feelings about this. Although I dreaded having to write on this blog twice a week, I found that I could do it and I would like to believe that the product of my efforts was worth reading. I can see myself choosing a topic once a month that I know little about and blogging about it. In this way, I educate myself on something I should probably already know. Maybe I should start with Facebook.

Autism & Second Life

After talking with some people about what I could write about on Second Life this week, someone suggested Autism. The Internet and SL have provided Autistic people, who have a difficult time with social interactions, a safe place to communicate.

As stated on their website, Autistics.org is an organization led by persons with autism and its goal is to "build a global database of information and resources by and for persons on the autistic spectrum." Autistics.org maintains a residence in Second Life using the group name Autistic Liberation Front (ALF). The organization is hoping to make the "Porcupine Zone" owned by autistic persons. This link shows pictures of ALF's space in SL. I especially liked the part where books on the bookshelf when opened provide text files about autism. ALF also provides a link to a SL Trivia website.

CNN recently did a report on a man with Asperger's syndrome who maintains a residence in SL. He has a place that is relaxing and contains many resources to help people gain a better understanding of Austism.

Earlier in the semester, I posted a YouTube video showing Amanda's view of the world. I will end this post with a YouTube video that, although a little lengthy, talks about Autism in SL and also Amanda's presence there. I hope you will watch it.

Global Kids & Second Life

Global Kids is an organization that strives to educate children around the world about global issues and how children can participate in government and the policy making process. Their mission as stated on their website is "to transform urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content rich learning experiences."

In 2006, Global Kids entered the world of Teen Second Life. Global Kids lists 4 ways that it is using TSL: After school programming, leadership programs, audio and video streaming, and professional services. A video of Mia Farrow leading a discussion about genocide in Darfur was played in TSL with the help of Global Kids.

Students learn about real world problems and are given training to help solve these problems in real life. What an excellent way to use a virtual world. Check out their blog.

What do you think? Would you let your child participate?

Why educators should take a look at Second Life

In researching Second Life, I have learned that there is still a lot more to learn. What better place to go than SL. I still haven't joined up but maybe someday I will have time to have a SL but right now my first life is keeping me incredibly busy.

This week, I found a wiki that talks about virtual worlds including SL and their uses in education. In SL, you can listen to a lecture, attend a concert, or visit a library. Did you know that in 2006 Harvard even offered a course that used SL and other Web 2.0 tools? How cool is that!!!

I am beginning to see why libraries have jumped on the band wagon and created spaces in SL. For me with aspirations to be in an elementary school library media center one day, I am not sure that SL will play a large role in my life. But if I do end up in a middle or high school and they don't already have one, I just might start an after school Second Life Club!

Second Life Webinars

The topic in this weeks discussion board was all about webinars and whether or not they are better than in person seminars. Personally for me, if it wasn't too time or cost prohibitive, I would prefer to attend a seminar in person. For a topic such as Second Life though, a webinar may actually be more appropriate. Here is a link to one by Sirsi Dynix Institute. This is a second link for a webinar about SL. This third link is a webinar about Teen SL.

I subscribe to the Stephen's Lighthouse RSS feed and have learned about a lot of different things through this resource. It is amazing how much he is able to blog given the amount of time he spends traveling. Check it out if you get a chance.

Second Life Slideshow

This is a pretty comprehensive slide show about Second Life. Feel free to fast forward through the slides on your own and not listen to all of the audio. That's what I did.

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SL certainly looks like a place that you visit to learn. The various lectures that are offered surprise me and many people seem to attend them. Interesting.

Phishing for Passwords

The most common form of phishing in Second Life is for the resident's passwords. Second Life has provided information on how to recognize that your account has been compromised and what you can do about it if it does happen. Here is an additional link that describes some common tricks used to get your passwords. This link also provides some suggestions on how to make your passwords stronger and harder to hack.

This is a good interview about two security researchers who investigated the phishing world. It is a little long but has good information about phishing and what happens when they get your personal information.