Last night was, for me, a very exciting event. It was the very first session that I have done in Second life. It was a demonstration of some new language teaching tools at the request of Anna Begonia. I imagined it was going to be a very small event but actually quite a lot of people turned up, that was more to do with Anna’s persuasiveness than anything that was on offer. J
Having not been even remotely excited about it before the event, training is very “normal life” for me and the preparation for this was no different to anything else I do, but, after the event, which finished at midnight, I was so exhilarated that I could not sleep.
I am not going to beat myself up over a first training event, and on the whole, it was not bad. People enjoyed it and went off with two new items to use in their teaching, but, it could have been better!
I was demonstrating and talking in English, but most people there were Italian and did not speak English. Anna was translating everything I said. I am used to cutting instruction to bare bones, simple steps etc., so we worked well as a pair, however someone’s sound failed. At this point Daffodil stepped in and typed what I was saying in English. So we had a three man presentation. Many, many thanks to both Anna and Daffodil without whose help it would have been disastrous. Of course I should have had everything that I was going to say already prepared as a text, and the text available in a note card – why didn’t I? This I knew but somehow had not associated it with what I was doing, very strange! Anyway I am doing a repeat event soon and that will be greatly improved.
The biggest problem that I found was that people present had rezzed their own prims, not just used mine and when I came to clean up I selected everything, hit the delete key and only about two thirds of the stuff disappeared. I could not clean up what others had made, neither could I return it. So I had to write grovelling apologies to the landowner, put it all in a neat little heap and ask him to get rid of it.
So not an SL virgin teacher any longer, I am delighted at having done it and with lessons that I have learned! It is a pity the audience did not get the best performance possible but we all have to start somewhere.
I have just seen Anna's video clip of the event http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abFYoBJBqVA :-)
3 comments:
I did not know it was your fist teaching session in SL, and as usual you looked so calm and self confident that I could not suspect it! And about having notecards prepared... well, it would have dimished the spontaneusity of the event.
It was a beautiful event, and if you look at it as a collective colourful performance, it's even more beautiful.
I would have liked to have a fixed camera somewhere to see how we changed that dull and flat place in something alive and colourful.
Thanks.
Anna Begonia
thanks Carol, we all had great fun especially with the alphabet blocks and it was good to see so many there joining in this collaborative experimental event. Looking forward to your forthcoming creations!
Carol, I enjoyed the session very much. Sessions in SL are always a bit unpredictable (well, maybe in RL, too). As Anna says, I'm sure nobody thought it was your first time.
Keeping in mind that there were many SL newbies who didn't know how to move objects, the language barriers, etc., you did an amazing job!
The last SLexperiments session had a holiday atmosphere and everybody was in a chatty mood. But I hope you will do a session with the stackable alphabet blocks in our first meeting next year.
Nergiz Kern (aka Daffodil Fargis)
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