Every teacher has that teaching moment....it's usual and we all have it but when my students did a presentation project about plant parts, I didn't get my teaching moment but I got my TOUCHING moment.

It was 7.30 pm and my class in SL that night was 30 minutes to go. I was not feeling well. I got a fever and felt dizzy so I decided to cancel the SL class for the night. I logged in to tell my students that I would cancel the class but they didn't want to. Instead they told me "We will take care of everything. What you need to do is just sit down and listen to our presentation."

Immediately, one student rezzed sofas for the class to sit. One girl made a special sofa just for me. Other students organized the Pres-O-Matic boards and the presentation. All went well, very well. That night I did nothing for my class besides sitting, relaxing and listening. It was better than spa. Thank you kids for being so kind and independent.






 

I was wondering if kids could learn science by making movies. Since my students knew the techniques of making machinima, I offered them to do a project of making science fiction machinima during spring break. The spring break hasn't started but some of my students have begun working on their science fiction project. This particular team was inspired by The Tron Legacy. They made the outfits themselves, including the neon lights. It is exciting to know that my students do not just consume knowledge but are also able to produce something out of it. They learn not because they want to get good scores, they learn because they are excited doing it.

I don't usually celebrate my birthday. I don't get birthday cake or any presents in my birthday but this time was a bit different. My students prepared a birthday party for me and it was a surprise one. They are all nomads in SL but they managed to set a room in a sandbox. They decorated it and they prepared presents that they built themselves. The happy birthday letters were very touching. I can imagine the amount of time they used to prepare it. Thank you all kiddos

It wasn't just lots of creativity, it was also lots of work, dedication and patience from my grade 5 and 6 students. They spent hours with their team to plan the script, to hunt for places and costumes for best shot, to edit the snapshots, to add text, to make them into flip book in SL and to exhibit it to the world.

Would people still dare to say that they didn't learn anything just because they were having fun doing it? Would people also still dare to say that they didn't socialize because they were in front of their computers?

The instruction I gave to my grade 5 students was quite simple: "Read your texts about water cycle, do internet research and make a presentation in SL. Then we will make an experiment about the water cycle." I allowed my students to do whatever they wanted with the project although I was actually expecting them to just make plain rectangular boards of posters. I was WRONG!!! When they showed me their works I was stunned. I couldn't stop saying "How did you do that?" Through this project I learned and believed this "Give children tools to learn and lots of freedom then they will show you their creativity."