When everything falls into place..

A few weeks ago I had one of those marvelous inspiring days ... It almost seemed accidental or perhaps providential.  For "in the trenches" teachers, it is one of those days when the learning and engagement come together and you as the teacher can watch it all happen with maximum flexibility to interact with all learners.   For Professional Developers this day appears when your participants are actively creating and interacting with others to make curriculum or educational technology magic happen.   I had just such a day:

I had a history teacher, who is a Civil War Re-Enactor, in one of my PD sessions looking to change up the dynamic of his classroom instruction.  I told him about my Virtual World projects, The Islands of Enlightenment, fully expecting his eyes to glass over and politely nod, but then look for another option.  Instead, he embraced the idea, asked all types of insightful questions and looked to dig right in.  So, I connected some of my OpenSim buddies who have been using virtual environments for years with their history classes and set up a day to get together and flesh out the idea of creating a Virtual Civil War experience for students.

What happened next was truly magical.    The teacher with the Civil War Re-Enactor experience brought his extensive knowledge of what a Civil War Encampment would look like, and the virtual world teachers started creating the encampment.  We spent the entire day working, collaborating, researching, and having fun!  Here are a few of the pictures from that day.