A new culture called Second Life [TM] has emerged that promises innovative strategies for everything from social interactions to business. Some educators believe it may hold new and unique opportunities for teaching and learning. Second Life [TM] (SL) is the creation of Linden Labs, a San Francisco-based corporation defined by its creators as "an…

The role of critical and creative thinking has been debated within the field of instructional design. Through an instructional design and development project we have identified how critical and creative thinking are essential to the instructional design process. This paper highlights a recent project focused on a virtual Native American village…

Second Life[TM], or simply SL, was developed at Linden Lab, a San Francisco-based corporation defined by its creators as "an online society within a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents, where they can explore, build, socialize and participate in their own economy." With over 14 million residents in the SL virtual community,…

Maine's one-to-one laptop program provides an ideal opportunity to explore conditions that optimize teacher integration of technology-focused curriculum into the classroom. EcoScienceWorks (ESW) is an ecology curriculum that includes targeted simulations and a code block programming challenge developed through an NSF-ITEST grant. The project was…

In this article, the author provides an overview of Second Life[trademark], or simply SL, which was developed at Linden Lab, a San Francisco-based corporation. SL is an online society within a threee-dimensional virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents, where they can explore, build, socialize and participate in their own economy.…

In an interview, Dr. Deborah W. Proctor, eCurriculum Director for Academic Innovations/ Minnesota Online and Co-Chair for the MERLOT International Conference, outlines her academic path that led to her current position and interests. As e-Curriculum Director for Academic Innovations in the Office of the Chancellor she works with system…

Simulation-based learning (SBL) is a recent yet promising pedagogical approach. There is a plethora of medical and business simulations. However, there is a lack of simulation tools for other areas of study, like teacher education. Furthermore, since the content of many educational simulations is "hard-coded" into the tool, educators typically…

This article presents an interview with Jeremy Koester, an eighth grade math teacher and football coach at Alamo Heights Junior School in San Antonio, Texas. In this interview, Koester describes his use of technology in his classes and describes his dream of advancing Second Life (SL) as a distance education environment. SL is a "3-D virtual…

Handheld devices are being used increasingly in schools and higher education. Many researchers assume that the use of these devices will exert considerable impact on educational practices. However, to date, it appears that such use has not been sustainable and transferable. The impact of educational uses of handheld devices does not yet seem…