Phase V: Full Immersion - There's No Place Like Home

"But you have not yet told me how to get back to Kansas."
"Your silver shoes will carry you over the desert," replied Glinda. "If you had known their power, you could have gone back to your Aunt Em the very first day you came to this country."
"But then I should not have had my wonderful brains!" cried the Scarecrow.
"And I should not have had my lovely heart," said the Tinman.
"And I could have lived a coward forever," declared the Lion.
"This is all true," said Dorothy, "and I am glad I was of use to these good friends."

Overview:

Reaching this point in the journey allowed Dorothy to see that her vision and commitment paid off for everyone. While she could have went home right away, the heart, brains, and courage would never have been there nor would her vision. Thus, she would have failed. Like Dorothy, you could dive right into Second Life without enduring the long and arduous journey but chances are you wouldn't reach this phase where the school has the knowledge to use SL in the classroom, the heart to be fully vested, and the courage to remain committed to SL. If you are lucky, you'll find yourself in this phase clicking your heels like Dorothy and heading home to a more enriched environment for learning.

Critical Steps:

1. Develop professional development plans for facilitating teachers with SL as an instructional platform based upon specific curricular and instructional SMART goals
2. Establish SMART goals regarding teacher use of the tool and learning growth
3. Continuous Cycle of Questioning, Observing, Reflecting and Acting
4. Shifting the focus away from SL and back onto the classroom as a whole
5. Present research findings to other schools looking to implement Second Life

Benchmark:

1. Second Life reaches a transparent state

Potential Roadblocks/Errors:

1. Failure to continue to strengthen use of SL
2. Failure to present findings to other schools
3. Failure to establish SMART goals
4. Second Life continues to be the focus instead of reaching a transparent state

Questions to Ponder:

1. What are specifics instructional goals teachers, departments, and the school wish to achieve?
2. How will you continue to build the school's use of SL?
3. How will your land in SL continue to evolve?
4. What role will students play in the development of land in SL?
5. When do you stop evaluating SL and see it as a transparent part of the classroom?
6. When will your school share its research and journey with other schools?

Go to Final Word

Go to School Implementation Framework Homepage