Second Life - Disruptive Technology

According to Nuthall (2008), Second Life has taken the world by storm. Not only has it become a space for socializing and learning, it's become a marketplace for real commerce. As a decision-maker within an online university, it's my experience that Second Life has opened up possibilities for multimedia within course content, publisher interactives, and simulation environments. Capsim (http://www.capsim.com/business-simulations/homepage.cfm?CFID=901788&CFTOKEN=45215554) and Labsim (http://www.labsimonline.com/) are used with our courses to improve a student's ability to meet learning objectives. These simulations do not go as far as the virtual world of Second Life. Rather these sims are simply a virtual space created specifically for a particular course of study, instructor, and students.

While some in online teaching and learning may venture into Second Life, there are dangers, just as in any world. There's misinformation, scams, fraud, and other nonacademic distractors that may do more harm than good to an unsuspecting student. But maybe this is just the dose of real world that academia needs.

References

Nuthall, K. (2008). University World News. Retrieved from http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20080117162121373

Texting as a Rhyme

Texting has taken the ability of instant messaging to your handheld device. But what did we do before instant messaging? I suppose the internet brought email, then chat rooms, then instant messaging. Before the internet, people wrote letters or notes to communicate with the written word. prior to mail service, they left notes at common areas or asked friends to deliver them.

The societal need for communication persists. Texting keyboards have changed over time. I currently use Swype, which takes predictive texting to a new level. Rather than the phone interpreting your individual keystrokes, it now predicts your words based on a combination of letters you slide over with your fingertip and letters you pause on.

Not only has texting changed the motor skills necessary for written communication, it has also changed our language, verbal and written. Ideas are communicated in a compact way, creating a new level of text-slang. Most educators have felt this impact as students seem interested in using the new text lingo in their academic writing.