Second Life

Слышали ли Вы о виртуальном пространстве Second life?

Это он-лайн мир, трехмерная социальная сеть. Здесь Вы можете зарегистрироваться. Вместо фотографии, Вы создаете своего аватара и можете гулять по этому пространству, посещать различные места и мероприятия, приглашать друзей, обмениваться сообщениями, и т.д.

Second life разделена на две части – для подростков (13 – 17 лет) и для взрослых. Британский Совет создал острова в обеих частях пространства. Здесь представлена Великобритания разных веков, здесь Вы можете принять участие в викторинах и других мероприятиях.

Для того, чтобы лучше представить, как это выглядит, Вы можете посмотреть видео экскурсию: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aERvhgSjiH0&feature=channel

Посетить острова Британского Совета можно совершенно бесплатно, однако Вам потребуется высокоскоростной интернет. Зарегистрируйтесь, создайте своего аватара, и Вы готовы!

Для того, чтобы узнать больше о том, что такое Second Life и как зарегистрироваться самим и зарегистрировать свой класс, я предлагаю для Вас выборку с сайта и статью с сайта Teaching English.

Abstract from our website:

http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-practice-2nd-life.htm

Do you want to learn English and visit the UK for free? Now you can, virtually. The British Council has created a learning zone for learners in the Second Life virtual environment. Interactive LearnEnglish activities and quests based on UK culture are available for all registered Second Life residents.

You can experience it now with this short video on YouTube.

Technical Requirements

- In order to run Second Life, you need a fast computer with a good graphics card

- You also need to have a broadband (DSL) Internet connection

- See http://secondlife.com/support/sysreqs.php for more detailed information

To register:

- join Second Life at https://join.secondlife.com/

- complete the Second Life orientation

- open an internet explorer window and Second life and go to the British Council Isle

Abstract from an article “Teaching and learning through social networks” by Adam Dalton

You can read the full article at http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/teaching-learning-through-social-networks

Teaching and learning English with Second Life
Second Life (http://secondlife.com) is an online world in which you have a character that can walk around and meet people. It is a social networking site that has very similar functions to Facebook. You can send friends invitations, talk to individuals, talk to groups of people and use learning applications or games. But sometimes the best way to explain something to someone is to simply show it to them. So here's a clip for you to watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxW2U9hF4E0&feature=channel_page

Second Life for teachers
There are two parts to the Second Life virtual environment: the Adult Grid and the Teen Grid. The British Council has built an island in the Adult Grid to train teachers in approaches to e-learning. You can read about the experience of Anna Begonia, a language teacher who was given a guided tour of the island, here: http://aberriolo.wordpress.com/2009/02/22/british-council-isle-on-the-main-grid/.

Second Life for teens
The British Council has also built an island for teens to visit for free (http://teen.secondlife.com/). Teenagers between 13 and 17 years old can make friends from all over the world, visit the UK (virtually!) and go on learning quests to improve their English and learn more about UK culture. They can talk to the Loch Ness monster, visit Stonehenge and ride on the London Eye!

Getting there
You can register and visit the island for free by going to http://secondlife.com/. You will need a broadband connection to use Second Life, however.

Alternatively, if you wish to register your whole class for the Teen Grid, you can contact Graham Stanley at the British Council (Graham.Stanley@britishcouncil.es). Graham is a learning technologies expert. You can read one of his blogs on this site: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/bcgstanley.