NotSchool

School is out!! Is it really? If we look around we see schools, much alike those I visited. Not bad schools, certainly not, but what if your finished with it and still have to go. To some of these youngsters Notschool is an answer. It provides tuition, in a way that it helps them in their learning path, without the school - agenda. Numbers are small compared to the system, but they proved themselves already. In my country there is a similar project using the same paradigm. NotSchool makes me ask why the educational system itsself does not succeed in serving this type of children.

Wondertree - SelfDesign

I visited Wondertree in 1995 and met Brent Cameron, the founding father of an initiative that celebrates its 25th year of existence this year. I stayed in an old villa, in the centre of Vancouver, crowded with teenagers, eager to learn, much less eager to go to school. They went out for payed work as entrepreneurs, were asked on conferences to show the latest developments of Adobe apps. A vibrant community guided by 'experts'. Nobody even dared to call them teachers, as these kids 'designed themselves. The image is the non-verbal icon of their learning path. Visit them here.

826 Valencia

Are you an active pirat? If so rush to 826 Valencia to obtain all you need to become the best equiped and best dressed pirat in the 21st Century. Another reason to go might be that you are somebody who needs some professional assistance on your writing. The place is one of the finest under - cover remedial 'teaching units' I have ever heard of. Find more yourself, you rascal, here! No doubt you will be able to find the other, more or less similar shops in the US yourself!

Kaospilots

Does this look like a school to you? It probably does not. And they do not intend to either! It is Kaospilot, a thrilling and succesful initiative in Aarhus sometime ago already. There is a location in my country too. It is all about learning and new ways to do so. The first core principle is playfulness! Read more about other principles on their pages, but start here. Lots of people talk about 21st century learning. They make serious business of it. I would love to see them start using 3d virtual worlds to work in, as you can imagine.

Robin (very) Good

Every now and then somebody makes something that really pleases me. I am very fond of using mindmaps, as it helps me to think: it helps me to order my thoughts, to communicate them, to organize my file resources and its a joy to continuously improve them. There is always a way to make 'm better. Almost perfect, this Mindmeister map Robin Good made on online collaborative tools. Its rich, its balanced, it looks strong and its incomplete. But Robin makes an effort to keep ahead of all those new tools that are developed now, at this moment, everywhere.... and the Chinese haven't even started yet. You 'll find it here

Montclair State CHSS 74/180/22

AJ brooks took us around his university and showed us what his students do in SL. It was grand to see how students made presentations in their rooms on the subjects they studied on and how they use SL as a mean to meet and discuss. Another interesting experience was the way we were toured around. We were tailing AJ as a bundle of young ducks. We never ever were more than a few feet away and followed every one of his movements. Good show, have a glimpse yourself.

Augmented Reality 38/84/37

First sign of Spring in Augmented Reality Island. Augmented Reality is one of the 4 types of virtual worlds, according to Metaverse.org's model. It is an interesting domain with lots of astonishing possibilities. Recently I spotted a video on Youtube in which a SL Avatar appeared in a real-world room. Filled to the roof with ICT - equipment, just to mark the development-status at the moment. With a pair of dedicated glassed on your nose you can expect me to walk in any moment. Or the guys from StarTrek.

Pot au feu

These guys were having fun when I passed them. Sitting behind their own desk at home or anywhere else with some privacy they enjoyed their smoke. By the sound of their voices it was a European lot that used SL to meet and socialise. Not a bad idea at all, allthough many would not approve this use of a public sandbox.

CNWL 118/182/77

MJB Hax, from College of North West London is working on the development of tools for learning in SL. He constructed a ruler that allows student to read out and report on their progress in measuring correctly. This may seem trivial, but remember that the skill to use a ruler is fundamental to many technical competencies. He has many more ideas on adressing other basic skills in numeracy and literacy in SL. He is btw also the first person I met that had his avatar name on his business - card in RL. Good show all together.

Could not resist it.

Allthough I recently said that flying a plane, heli, or driving a car or any other vehicle is silly, I could not resist a try of the heli I keep in my inventory. This storage of notecards, landmarks, contacts and innumereous object is a troublesome partner in SL. It is not easy to maintain some form of organisation apart from the one LLab provides. Every now and then I start organising and filling the bin, but overtime I see the need for a rehearsal of that unpleasant work. Still, its almost impossible to throw this beauty away.