Ines Ogura / Ines Puspita

Pio had the pleasure to meet this wonderful educator from Jakarta Indonesia, an upper primary Science teacher in Deutsche Internationale Schule/German International School Indonesia. A good friend Fidel Quevedo, invited Pio to meet Ines in her office in Chilbo. She was really impressed at the creativity and good educational work this girl is doing. She built her office to connect real life classes with her SL classes. When describing herself as a teacher she says:

- Hybrid teacher, teaching not only with mortar and bricks but also bytes and bits.
- Creating just 1% scientist and 99% happy, fulfilled, content and loving human being.
- Teaching avatars of any shapes and sizes, including dragons, robots, vampires, fairies and Lady Gaga.
- Defying the law of gravity every now and then.
- Using technology and magical pixy dusts in every class.
- Definately not a shapeshifter but can be a cool fashionista.  

I found this educator description fascinating, it reflects how a SL educator see herself and if you compared this view to the way  RL educators see themselves... there's a big difference. She's also a student and she's taking educator development classes of various subjects, from Biology to Literature. Also building, scripting and machinima classes and since she teaches Biology, she's Currently learning to bring Indonesian endangered plant species to life in SL. 

Pio connected immediately with Ines and went on visiting her web page and learned interesting tips on how to teach in SL. She laughed out loud at  Ines' hilarious experiences in SL. SL world is certainly a small world... and Ines and Pio were meant to meet as you can see this picture taken at a chilbo swap tool session.

In order to teach and learn effectively, she and her students use media on a prim boards to connect what they have in real life with what they do in-world. Ines and her students work with webpages, they have created and then can access in SL. 

Now, to finish something she says:

Avatars Do Make a Difference not just in SL but also in RL

Well, Pio has found a like minded educator and hopes they go together in adventures to learn a nd share.

Keep on shining Love and Peace!
Pionia Destiny

Virual Pioneers Conference 2010!!!

Pionia just found out about the: Re-create, Educate, and illuminate-learning History Virtually! ....... This SL conference will take place on October 29 and 30, the Virtual Pioneers invite educators from around the world to embark on an online history conference that will provide classroom teachers, curriculum directors, administrators, college faculty, pre-service college students, or anyone interested in history with a chance to learn and network with peers in Second Life.  For 48 hours, the Virtual Pioneers will host fantastic speakers, interactive tours, as well as, a historical costume party! 

This conference is free to anyone with a Second Life account, but you are encouraged to register in advance.  It is also important to note you can create a Second Life account free of charge.  Please join us for this fantastic event!

Questions? Please contact:  Spiff Whitfield in Second Life or email spiffwhitfield84@gmail.com

Virtual Pioneers:

This is a group founded in 2007 as a professional development group of educators from the Western New York Boces that met as a learning community virtually in Second Life to learn about history and culture in a unique and creative way.  The group quickly grew as it gained notoriety with other educators from other parts of the U.S. who had found a professional learning community in Second Life.  Today, the group includes educators from all parts of the globe and hosts bimonthly meetings to explore historical recreations in-world and learn from each other - what works in their classrooms with their students (elementary to pre-service).  The group has toured digitally created landmarks, had powerful guest speakers, and hosted teacher to teacher discussions that has brought history alive.

The Virtual Pioneers hosts special events annually and is proud to collaborate with other professional organizations such as ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education, and the local Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) affiliate in Arizona, Eight.  Virtual Pioneers is always looking for new partnerships and welcoming additional members.  Please look for us in Second Life at the Virtual Pioneers Headquarters and join our professional learning community group here.

Looking for a revolution june 2010

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