Second Life is a virtual world in which you have an avatar you can move and
with which you can interact with objects. You can also see other people’s
avatars and interact with them too. You can chat with an individual or with
a group and information can travel between avatars in a variety of forms.
The Institute of Physics Teacher Network is a UK based support group. We
have around 35 teachers spread across the British Isles delivering events to
those teaching physics to boost morale and improve teaching and subject
knowledge.
Given that Second Life seems a rich environment for information transfer and
one of the aims of the Network is transferring information it seems a
reasonable idea to attempt to run a workshop in Second Life.
On Tuesday 6th March 2007 at 7.00 pm UK local time (GMT) (Which is 11.00 am
SL time) the location DotNetNuke (58, 206, 25) will be made open to the
public. At 7.30pm we will begin the “Software for Skint Schools” workshop
which should be finished by 8.00 – 8.15 pm. I will then be on hand until
9.00pm to answer any questions that may arise.
Software for Skint Schools is a workshop that quickly takes you through 21
pieces of free software. After a brief description and opinion of each the
expectation is that those attending the workshop will use those they find
interesting, with advice still being available if needed immediately after.
Course materials will be provided. There is no charge for attending. NPL
(http://www.npl.co.uk/) have been crucial in providing resources for the
workshop to take place.
We would also appreciate feedback after the session to assess the merits of
this medium. The hope is that we may be able to use Second Life to help
deliver some type of support for those in more remote locations.
If you would like to attend then just turn up at the right place and at the
right time. To run Second Life you’ll need a computer and a broadband
connection. We recommend that you familiarise yourself well in advance with
Second Life – which is a lot of fun – as you need to read a little first and
run through some preparation exercises before you’re allowed into Second
Life proper. You can download Second Life from: