Skoolaborate

Skoolaborate Congress 08

It is on!  Our first international congress with 4 of our 7 countries.  The others will attend the virtual congress (as soon as we figure out how to do that).  We also have limited spaces for those that just want to observe and listen. Apply here. (westley@mac.com).

It is a project based congress where students and teachers choose projects that require  skills such as concept design, building, scripting, art work, landscaping etc.  They then access experts to  assist them in areas of need.  The days will also be scattered with short Keynotes from World Leaders in the area.

My Principal Mrs Barbara Stone would like to officially invite your teachers and students to attend our first 'Skoolaborate Congress' at MLC School in July 2008.

We are keen to encourage this important global collaboration opportunity amongst our communities. The congress will provide a significant boost to the skill levels and understandings of the staff and students who participate. They will make a significant step toward building those skills they need to succeed in a increasingly global workplace.

We look forward to establishing and ongoing relationship between our schools. I appreciate the interest and commitment that your staff have shown in making our initiative one of the most significant of it's kind, worldwide.

When: July 31st / 1st / 2nd of August.

Where: MLC School, Sydney Australia.

Why: The aim of the congress is to:

• Explore possibilities for virtual and blended learning experiences for schools
• Build professional Networks
• Cement relationships between the participating schools, teachers and students
• Build capacity for students and teachers to operate in Skoolaborate
• Share vision and understanding of the initiative
• Initiate our first virtual congress

Congress Fee: There will be a congress participation fee of $500 for non partners $200 for partners. 

A light lunch and recess will be provided during the congress

Who:
All current Skoolaborate partners, those interested in joining the initiative or those interested in how virtual worlds operate in schools. Each ten students must be accompanied by a teacher. So far we have ...

MLC School - Sydney Australia
Kyoto Gakuen School - Kyoto Japan
Christ College - Christchurch New Zealand
HWA Chong Institution - Singapore
Hobart College - Hobart Tasmania
Victoria University / Debney Park School
Melbourne Grammar School Victoria

Guest Presenters:

Mike Mikula Teen Builder - Mike recently was named in the Wall Street Journal as being one of the most entreprenerial students on the planet. Mike is arguably the best 'teen' builder in Virtual Worlds

Michelle Selinger - Director of Education Asia Pacific Public Sector Cisco Systems. Michelle is involved in the World Economic Forum’s Global Education Initiative having worked extensively on the inaugural Jordan Education Initiative as the education strategist for the Program Management Office and advised on the Egyptian Education Initiative and Partnerships for Education. UNESCO are about to launch a set of ICT teacher training competency standards which she helped to develop. Michelle will give us a comprehensive global picture.

Barry Harper - Dean of Education Wollongong University (retired) Barry is well known internationally for his innovative leadership in the development of multi media products. Barry brings a wealth of knowledge to the Project and is looking at how Wollongong can be more closely involved with Skoolaborate.

Lindy Mckewon - ISTE Leader of the year 06. - Lindy is a highly respected Virtual worlds consultant who has led many educational developments using virtual worlds. Lindy is a regular international speaker and consultant to large corporations such as Xerox.

From Crayons to Perfumes.

'Our Mike' - How proud we are.

On the weekend Mike truly found success.  Part of the lead story in the Wall Street Journal no less.

It seems like yesterday that I bumped into this young lad visiting our islands.  He was a confident brash kid, very confident in his abilities and very ready to show them off.  He certainly had amazing building skills and impressed everyone with his first building on Skoolaborate (the learning centre, a replica of MLC School)  That was when I realised how quick things could happen. I was still thinking about what I wanted to put in the building when Mike had finished it. I also remember a concerned Mum hastling him to get off his computer.

No, I  said,  those chairs are in a straight line, we can't have that, we need round tables for collaboration, we need colourful carpet and more comfortable furniture.  I was learning about Mike and he was learning about our vision at MLC. We haggled, argued, compromised and got it done.

And there lies the true value of Mike Mikula. 

In response to the article,  I have  had potential teen builders contacting me from all over the world.  Their comments stating how they are just as good at building  as Mike etc Why not pay me to work for you?  So I guess I should explain why.

The reason I believe Mike is successful and will continue to be successful has very little to do with his outstanding building skills.  It has everything to do with his character.  Mike is a young man full of integrity. Integrity sometimes seems an old fashioned value, but it is the value that employers seek. 

Mike, at no stage asked to be paid for  his work, he volunteered for Skoolaborate and contributed in so many ways beyond building.  Mike has presented at conferences virtually, been interviewed by principals on the realities of life in second life, provided technical support, provided professional development and more.  What I was most impressed with was his mentoring of other students.  I would often visit the islands  and find Mike deeply involved with his mentoring of those students.  He would not cut them short and talk to me but rather finish  mentoring them and get back to me later. 

Mike and I have spent many hours together dealing with many of life's experiences and Mike has always listened to any advice I may offer.  Sometimes he would take that advice and sometimes come up with his own plan.

I guess the lesson is simple.  Do your best, be honest and true and opportunities will come your way.  In the end I, as an employer, felt compelled to reward Mike for all his hard work.

Mike will be visiting us at MLC School in Sydney, Australia in July to deliver his first keynote and work with our Skoolaborate students at our first international conference. 

During his visit he will be meeting with Ed Lippman, the architect that worked with him on the virtual version of our new  school.  Ed is keen to explore how he and Mike can develop a closer working relationship (big possibilities).  To start with they will tour Ed's new $120m dollar development then negotiate over how Mike may re create it in Second Life and finally discuss what else might be. 

At the pace that Mike is rising, Ed may need to get in quick. 

As for Mike and Skoolaborate, he is a part of our fabric and I have all faith that Mike will always support us as best he can- that is the quality of this outstanding young man. 

I must also say a big thanks to Mike's Mum who was willing to change her view of what Mike was doing (waisting his time on that computer!) to see that her son was actually doing world changing feats for students and teachers all around the world. That open mindedness and flexibility of mind are just two of the gifts Mike's mum has passed down.  You should be very proud Mrs Mike, I know I am - well done Mike.

For the  history of Mike's story on Skoolaborate see the Mike's Story Category - plenty more to come here.

Christmas in Skoolaborate

A sample of student talk - During the Christmas brake i was inspired by a cute little house I saw on one of the islands on Skoolaborate (I think it was near the Pier) called Santa's house.. or something and it was sooooo cute
people had made themselves Christmas trees with angels and other cute things so I thought I'd put in my bit.

I added some script to the Santa so that when you sit on his lap you get a Present of a cute little snowman who follows you around its from me to you and he randomly says things like "Milk and cookies are the best" and "Christmas is over why am i still here"
I took him, the snowman and Christmas tree away 12 days after Christmas I'm planning on showing some people coming to my school on Tuesday next week at 2.30pm (Sydney time) but if you see me online you can just ask me to show you i'm very proud of how well it turned out but i don't think that many people came online during to holidays so not very many people saw it :)

From Emily (Student at MLC)

p.s I've added a link for all of you to see my Santa Script to see how it works or whatever

How Santa works

Milford High School begins "Skoolaborating"

Second Life sounded like a crazy idea. My son and his wife, who both hold graduate degrees, tried to get me involved by telling me about avatars and flying and virtual spaces and I just smiled and shook my head.

But seeing a virtual environment did get me interested. Looking over their shoulders, I watched them meet people from around the world and build and design and think - think globally. I wanted that and joined about 2 years ago. I attended an education conference in SL; I practiced my fragile Italian language skills and held a teachers' meeting at Aretao SL headquarters in Sibine at which a Danish presenter showed us new tools for training success.

Meanwhile, I went to school everyday to teach English at Milford High School.

One Monday, one of my top students named Adam asked me for the work for Tuesday because he was going to be waiting in line to be one of the first to buy a new game, violent by reputation. When I teased him about it, he (respectfully) told me why he played and what he got out of it.Then it dawned on me: how much he would get out of Second Life with his creativity and his humor and his willingness to learn and meet people all over the world. Like the "perfect storm," everything came together because I was in  a program called Leadership Teacher.  What if I could find a way to match the talents and interests of students like Adam with a Second Life environment?

But since SL is for those over 18, I had to find something else. It occurred to me that I had a lot to learn and that a project that was currently running might be willing to mentor me through the process. I went to the site for educators and found something  better: Skoolaborators!

But would they want us? Was their a cost? Could I communicate my vision to the administrators at my school? Would students be interested? Happy ending in my next post...

By the way,Milford, New Hampshire USA was the town of my grandparents who came to North America in 1917. It was established early in the history of the US but still has much of its traditional New England look: gazebo on a common (we call it the "Oval"), and granite everywhere; after all NH is "The Granite State" and Milford is the "Granite Town." Would the idea of Skoolaborate seem "rock solid" to the decision makers in a public school in America?

Taiwanese Students Complete First Video Project

How can two months of classes slip by so quickly?  Engagement is the key!

Five students were given the task of  brainstorming, to come up with a video that would serve as an introduction to the Skoolaborate program.  Over a period of three weeks, each student identified information they felt would be important and interesting to include in the video.  They then edited this into a working script, and translated this script from English into Traditional Chinese.

The next step was to determine how best to incorporate this into a video.  Each student was introduced to several different computer applications that they could use as tools.  I was a little hesitant about this step at first, as it had taken me hundreds of hours to learn these programs on my own.  However, they were eager to learn, and they learned the basics of these programs in a very short period of time.

Instead of having each student create an individual video, to save time, we divided the script into five separate sections.  I worked with each student as they produced their segments, and then edited and compiled these segments into the final video.

I am very pleased and delighted by what they have accomplished.  They are proud of their work, and they are eager to work collaboratively on future projects.  They also have a much better understanding of what  "Skoolaborate" really is, and a new found sense of purpose.   

These students have already began research for our next project: identifying important/interesting  characters from  Chinese/Taiwanese history.  I am learning a lot, thanks to them!