Teachers as Learners

I've been reading through David Warlick's blog "2 Cents" and came across some things that really struck me as important.
Warlick wrote,
Sadly, we are a generation who was taught how to be taught — not how to teach ourselves.
I completely agree with this statement, and I have been trying to remind myself of this as I adventure through the Education program at the University of Regina. I have often found myself waiting for further instruction, asking what the teacher really wants us to do, and very rarely have I been willing to "venture out on my own" and take a chance in the way that I learn. As a teacher, I need to be able to teach my students. But, how can I teach my students if I can't teach myself? This has been important in my approach to technology in the classroom. I have a lot to learn from my instrutor and others; but there are many opportunities for me to teach myself. I have access to the entire world on the internet, and I need to take advantage of it. As teachers, we need to enhance our own learning to be albe to enhance our students learning. Sometimes, that might mean I need to learn from my students. I know that in my future classroom I will have students who are incredibly knowledgable about technology and the way it can be used. So rather than fight it, I can ask them to teach me. There is a lot to be learned from my students. I also think they take pride in being able to teach an adult or share their knowledge with others. On Warlick's blog a comment was made by Michele Martin:
Part of lifelong learning is being curious, seeking out new information and being on top of your game re: changes in the field.
This sums it up so well. How can we teach kids to think, problem solve and explore if we don't do it ourselves?

Just a note:
Warlick has a post about "Second Life" and the "Second Life Best Practices in Education International Conference" on May 25. This all sounds really interesting. I want to know more about it. What is it? It looks like a virtual world. How will this conference work? Would it be valuable for me to take part in? Wow! Is this the future of Education? Virtual people in a virtual world. Maybe this could be a way of expanding my learning. Sounds very interesting and worth looking into.