Second Death in Vista

Honesty is the best policy, even if it's embarassing . . .

I graduated in the *gulp* eighties. I played "Pong" on TV screens. I remember before Pac-Man met Ms. Pac-Man and how space invaders were shot down by 8 pixel missiles.

One of my former students called me "boring" because I enjoyed the static-esque Sims 2 (with all the add-ons, of course) and had not yet experienced the power of Wii (although the siblings bounced around the idea of getting it for the folks - true gamers themselves. My brother said the boxing was a true workout, and their TV room is much larger than his).

My first glimpse of the ISTE Second Life and the images on the log-in screen took me back to familiar turf. I know how to navigate these games - I even approached carpal tunnel from racing my husband around Simpsonland on our Xbox Generation 2 during "20 hour" Alaskan winter nights.

However. I gave my gaming computer back to my husband and found a new shell in my "up to date" Vista/Office 2007 think pad. Why would an international educational consultant need a serious video card to project internet images?

Because we're moving forward, anxious to facilitate the conversations that will revolutionize teaching and learning, and I'm excited to have an excuse to approach our IT specialist about an upgrade.

Wow. Something else to do during those long layovers!

Better bring chocolate.