Getting There

If you haven’t attended a seminar sponsored by ALA or ISTE on Second Life, then you are missing a valuable opportunity to hear about some timely topics and converse with your colleagues from around the U.S. and the world. In January, I logged into Second Life for the first time so that I could hear Mike Eisenberg. While awkward at first, the venue is amazingly engaging and well worth the learning curve (it isn’t that bad, actually). Since then I have attended two other seminars featuring Joyce Valenza and Will Richardson. Last week, my co-author Marla McGhee and I presented about keeping school libraries relevant in the age of accountability. Since we are fairly unknown, our attendance was sparse compared to the others, but the participants kept the discussion lively and had definite opinions about topics of concern. We discussed the accountability system and the effects it has on school libraries including collaboration and text leveling, the hurdles in integrating the AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner, developing a culturally competent collection, and the blocking of Web 2.0 tools in schools. While our avatars stood in the same place the entire session, the awkwardness faded as soon as we started. One can control the movements of the avatar, but we are not as experienced as some and chose to concentrate on not messing up and to keep up with the questions on the chat log. I think that in time, one can get proficient. Lisa Perez (aka Elaine Tulip) is so good at managing her avatar AND literally setting the stage for the session AND calming nervous presenters and newly born attendees.

At a party last evening, a skeptical neighbor asked me just what was so special about PD in Second Life that you couldn’t do say, on a video conference. Well, I said… You can

1. attend quality seminars, most for free, from the comfort of your easy chair in your old shorts and t-shirt.
2. interact with colleagues from all over the world
3. meet new people
4. chat or talk using a microphone
5. get notecards from the presenters
6. see accompanying slide show and photos of the presenters
7. join online supporting organizations
8. IM private messages
9. keep a record of the chat log
10. “see” others in the group

The list goes on and on. If you haven’t been to a seminar in Second Life, put it on your list of things to do next fall when ALA/AASL kicks off their new season of professional development seminars. Give birth to your avatar this summer so you are ready next fall.