Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Site name: VIRTLANTIS
Location address: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Knowingly/155/122/22
I have been roaming in Second Life these days. Yesterday when I searched “Learning Chinese”, I found a site called Sky Learning Center (SLC). I teleported to that site and heard some people talking in Chinese. I just chatted by typing before and I was not familiar with speaking in Second Life. I talked with those people and they taught me how to speak in Second Life. Talking with them, I got to know that SLC is created by them. I was very glad to meet some people who are able to build sites in Second Life. They told me SLC is new and small, and people have to pay to learn. They suggested Cypris and VIRTLANTIS to me, which are more popular and free to learn foreign languages. A girl brought me to both the sites and simply showed me around, then I explored them on my own. I finally chose VIRTLANTIS to explore further.
After teleported to VIRTLANTIS, I landed in the welcome area. The background music was very fascinating. After Looking around, I saw the VIRTLANTIS Activity Calendar. There were different languages to learn. I clicked the Strange Stories English Club and it showed specific information on the board.
I met a friend from Finland in VIRTLANTIS. He has been there for a long time and he goes there nearly everyday. He is also a Finnish teacher in VIRTLANTIS. I saw there are also some Chinese courses, so maybe I could teach Chinese in this site. All the courses are free, and all the teachers are volunteer. It’s a very good place to help each other.
On the left side of the welcome area, there is a map, on which there are some red spots which could take us to different area. I clicked the Paradise on the bottom of the left page, and a page popped out, then I could teleport to the Paradise area.
After that, I went back to the welcome area and flew in the air, and looked around. I saw there are many computers in a place, so I flew there. I sit on the chair and played with the computer. There were many different activities to choose.
Afterwards, I flew in the air again and saw an interesting place. There was a screen and I clicked it, then it taught me how to install flash. I clicked the pictures on the cushion, and I found that they could be changed into different pictures! Amazing. On the right of the screen, I saw a board. I walked nearby and clicked it. Then I have nine notecards to choose to learn something. I chose the Vocabulary-G for games, then a notecard popped out, which taught me some English and also some websites to play games to improve my English.
After that I went to Wodek’s Lounchroom, where the pronunciations are taught. It’s very beneficial.
There are still many other places to explore. This is just the beginning. I’m more familiar with second life now and I will continue to explore it and some other sites.
It’s a very good site for learning foreign languages and all the courses and activities are free. I may teach Chinese in America in the future. VIRTLANTIS provides me a platform to teach and learn in an virtual environment. With the support of Second Life, we could teach and learn anywhere if there is internet, without worrying the transportation, which is very convenient. If I could be a teacher in the future, I will encourage my students to learn in Second Life. I may also teach my students or hold meetings in Second Life.
