How Do I Learn? From My Own Mistakes

I attended a roundtable discussion in Second Life yesterday afternoon. In the course of the discussion I volunteered to the group that I had received no formal orientation to the virtual world. The implication being that I was doing okay without it. Minutes later I discovered, much to my dismay, that I had my voicechat microphone on and it was disrupting the roundtable. The group also noticed and someone asked for whomever it was to turn off the microphone. I sheepishly apologized and continued my participation.

Later, I was reflecting on the experience. In other less crucial circumstances, I had experienced a mysterious sudden activation of my microphone when I did not intend for it to be turned on. I wondered what was happening. Suddenly, I remembered! In early days, when I was trying to figure out voicechat, I set up a shortcut key. "V" would be a toggle to turn on voicechat. I guess I had been using words containing the letter "V" when these incidents occurred. I quickly fixed my preferences so that this would not happen any more. I don't think I need a shortcut key. I've learned my lesson.

How do I learn, in general?

I am quoting from Tony Wagner's The Global Achievement Gap...

[I] want to turn the thing on, get in there, muck around, and see what works.
[I] get on the Web and link, lurk, and watch how other people are doing things, then try it for [myself].

This is a reasonable description of how I learn in general. I will also read a lot, but more in the spirit of lurking and watching how others do it, than in the spirit of directions I must follow.

What makes an authentic assessment?

In Second Life, I was invited to an ice-skating party. There were a dozen or so attendees. At one point, I thought a particular avatar was addressing conversation to me, and so I responded when appropriate. It quickly became evident to me, though, that he was conversing with someone else. I may have failed the assessment at that moment, but I won't make the same mistake next time!

How did I learn on the first day (of the New Year)?

I was surprised to find so many avatars (40-some) gathered in Second Life to hear National Public Radio's broadcast of Science Friday! I thought I would be alone with crickets chirping, but no! There was an active chat going, which didn't impress me by its tone or content, but because of it I made a brief connection with someone after reading they have a degree in my field. What are the odds of that?

As a side note, today I caught a glimpse of my SL snapshot posted on this blog. I have learned SO MUCH since I did that! It seems to me that my learning has been at a very quick pace that I have set myself.
If instead I had been in the classroom and had been forced to wait for slower learners, I:
a) would not be nearly so far along; or
b) would have sped ahead in class and risked being called out for it; or
c) would have lost interest.
None of those options are acceptable to me for my own learning (when it is something truly important to me). Should they be acceptable in our classrooms?