Fred, Barney, Wilma, Betty, Pebbles, and Bambam….These were among my favorite cartoon characters for many years, and some creative genius has recreated Bedrock in Second Life. Of course, I was compelled to pay it a visit.

The streets are lined with colorful trees and buildings and cobblestone streets.

You can visit Fred’s house and share his popcorn and Fruity Pebbles cereal.

There’s a ferris wheel ride in the middle of Bedrock.

You can take a ride on Dino’s back or stroll around in the famous man-powered automobile.

Pay Fred and Barney a visit in SL Bedrock, and tell them Penguin sent you!

ISTE recently acquired its own island and had it all dressed up and ready to go by the opening days of NECC. This evening, there was an opening reception at the Georgia Aquarium, and for those who could not attend the conference in Atlanta, there was a virtual reception on ISTE island.

It was fun and exciting to talk with avatars who were actually in Atlanta as well as those of us who were participating from home. As this was a social event, there was the usual chatter as well as an animated dance floor that seemed to be enjoyed by all in attendance. Well, there were a few folks who were new to SL who looked at the rest of us like we were crazy, but just give them about 2 days and they’ll be right in there with us!

The aquarium itself was fabulous. Naturally, my favorite part was the penguin exhibit!

If you are a technology educator, but sure to visit ISTE Island and join the ISTE Second Life group.

ISTE, or the International Society for Technology in Education, has a large presence in Second Life. Last night I attended a show and tell meeting sponsored by ISTE. This was my first official meeting in this new world, and I was intrigued by it all. There was a large number of avatars present, so many in fact that the sim filled up at one point. We were introduced to some cool gadgets that make living in this virtual world a bit easier, such as the MystiTool HUD from Mystical Cookie Designs. Then Kathy Dryburgh spoke about a database she is creating using the ways educators are using emerging technologies in their profession.

ISTE has a host of volunteers who stay at the desk of the ISTE building to answer questions and give tours during busy hours. They are also building a new island adjacent to Eduisland. Many prominent technology educators are involved with both ISTE and Second Life, and I believe that we are just beginning to scrape the surface of the potential of using virtual worlds in education.