Career Exploration Using Second Life
Exploring Culture and Career Using 'Second Life'
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Introduction[edit | edit source]Career exploration is a necessity for both high school-aged and college-aged students. At times it is difficult for a person to know exactly what a career is like or just if s/he has an interest in a topic unless s/he gets to experience it first. That experience is unfortunately not something that comes by easily in real life due to |
Goals and Purpose[edit | edit source]The purpose of this lesson is to use college/career ready standards in addition to or instead of career shadowing. The desire is to offer goal setting skills, life exploration, and career search. It's been researched that the online setting lacks "triggers of differences", that a person's race, culture, language, gender, etc. is ignored thereby implying that there are such cultural triggers in real life. This lesson will have students explore careers using a specified avatar and to record any experiences they had based on the looks of the avatar. This lesson may result in a real-life versus online-life differences (pros/cons) when looking for a job or choosing a career. |
Definition(s)[edit | edit source]'Triggers of difference' according to Merryfield are described as "When they [teachers] hear a Chinese accent, see a Jordanian woman's head cover, observe a Brazilian's body language, smell curry on an Indian's breath, some Americans automatically register a consciousness of difference that may trigger discomfort, stereotypes, xenophobia, or recognition of their own ignorance of other cultures. The triggers of visual and aural differences often subconsciously make people uncomfortable or otherwise constrain people's abilities to listen, interact, and learn from others" (Merryfield, 2003, p. 160). |
Lesson Steps[edit | edit source]Quote: "Closed online environments provide a secure place for people to take risks, share personal experiences, admit to the realities of prejudice and discrimination..." (Merryfield, 2003, p.158). Teacher study: Further experiences in Second Life during the project will continue to be recorded by each student. The teacher may also choose to keep a record of student behavior throughout the project using a "behavior checklist." Doing this will allow the teacher to observe whether or not the students' virtual experience of using "superior" versus "inferior" avatars affects their self-image since according to Merryfield's text "Like A Veil: Cross-cultural experiential learning online", the virtual experience lacks "triggers of differences" while PBS's 2008 Frontline report "A Digital Nation" mentions how positive self-concepts attained from one would argue, superior, avatars in the virtual world, carries to real life. After the project, students will repeat the "self-concepts" test followed by a self reflection.
Step 2. Complete a personality test (either Copes, Cops, Caps [for Interest, Values, and Skills], ASVAB, or Myers Briggs) in order to get an idea of careers that would match the individual. Step 3. Select with teacher encouragement, at least three job categories and locate areas/businesses in Second Life, that fit the careers options chosen. Step 4. Complete an entire length of training/internship/course or at least 42 hours online. This will be recorded by offering the teacher a series of pictures (be sure that date/time are included in image) of exploration completed at the approved training posts, along with login hours for proof. Step 5. Complete outside research. For each job selected, find the pay rate, level of education necessary, duties etc. In doing the research, students are required to interview a professional in the careers they are exploring and virtually experiencing. Suggested interview questions will be provided by the teacher and the professional being interviewed may be the career 'mentor' (person training student(s) on career) on Second Life or a person within the community. Step 6. Have each student present/report back to the class their findings, experience, level of difficulty, and career goals set based on online experiences. Step 7. Students retake Self-Concepts Questionnaire. Step 8. Only now do students discover that the teacher recorded behavioral and/or self-concepts changes (if any) of students while continuing the project. Teacher presents students with the data recorded and opens the floor up for discussion in regards to the presence or lack of 'triggers of difference'. TO DISCUSS: (1) Were students of differing avatars treated differently from one another during their Second Life career exploration? (2) Does the 'real world' versus Second Life provide people with more, less, or the same amount of prejudice in the workplace? (3) Should 'triggers of differences' deter me from persuing a particular career option? (4) What advocacy groups, programs, and/or businesses offer support for persons of varying ethnicities in persuance of 'nontraditional' career options? For the questions students are unable to answer, the teacher will provide them with prompts, suggestions, and contact information for that community. Step 9. Reflect back to values, interests etc. fulfilled by the job exploration as well as the overall experience and what was learned from personal exploration and what other students with different avatars went through. |
Activity Details[edit | edit source]AVATAR ETHNICITIES |
Angola University[edit | edit source]What's available career exploration-wise... If you are interested in taking classes @ AVLC, Please leave an IM or notecard with Nzingha Dreddmor. AVLC is very newbie friendly!! Coordinates: Pooch Deezul, Gream (210, 163, 1501)
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Reflection[edit | edit source](I) Explain what you believe was the purpose of the project and answer in detail: How have you and your classmates' personal views about the future, about life, your values, interests, goals, and about success (in any environment) changed throughout the course of the Virtual Project? |
Alternative(s)[edit | edit source](1) Teacher may pick a set of careers for the entire class and supposing the class picks five careers, divide the class into five groups but students are still expected to complete the research and training independently. (2) School may chose to purchase land and create its own settings rather than to use what is already there, and then use the space to post student findings, experiences, and reports in the Second Life land location for public availability. (3) Accumulate written student presentations to post online on a secure site such as wikiversity as a record over the years of career choice information which may be used for a school organized career fair or virtual fair. |
References[edit | edit source]1. Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education (pp. 256-270). New York, NY: The Macmillan Company. |
Other[edit | edit source]ARTICLES AND/OR SITES THAT SUPPORTING JOB SHADOWING: |