"Second Life" for Educators

Is Second Life and 3-D Virtual Reality the future of Educational Technology?

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Second life (SL) is an “online society within a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents, where they can explore, build, socialize and participate in their own economy” (Life, 2008). Originally the dream of Philip Rosedale, SL was developed by Lindon Lab in 1999. It was officially launched in 2003 with 16 servers and about 1000 users. In the 5 years since its official launch this virtual world has grown to 6,000 servers and 1,000 new members per hour. However, most new members do not stay. Only 10% of new members stay on after 90 days.

Members of the SL community create a 3-D avatar, buy property (server space) and build homes and businesses with tools. It makes surfing the internet like playing a video game. Many businesses and volunteer organizations have “offices” in SL including over 100 educational institutions. SL allows educational institutions to create a virtual campus with classrooms that are used to hold virtual classes. Many people think that SL is the future of the World Wide Web which begs the question, is this 3-D world also the future of higher and continuing education? It’s too soon to tell right now, but with Lindon Lab working with IBM to standardize this high tech cyber world, it is definitely something to keep our eye on!

Second life can have many applications for the classroom.  SL has already taken off at a collegiate level.  For instance, Educators can provide seminars and discussions via SL.  Students can help create their 'classroom environment' by creating their own chairs, for their virtual classroom.  In SL students can play cooperation games, go on scavenger hunts, listen to music, watch movies, etc. etc. Clearly their are many applications for SL in the classroom, with many ideas yet to be discovered.

 
The military is seeing the value in Second Life.  Simulations have been a growing part of the military and one aspect is the Air Force's "My Base".  MyBase is a virtual world in Second Life and is an effort by the Air Education and Training Command.  It is supposed to educate people about the Air Force and to provide information about Air Force life and careers to potential recruits. The Air Force's future plans to develop virtual worlds for training, learning, and performance include acquiring secure domains for Airmen to receive training.

Here are a few links relating to this topic:

http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2008/12/mybase-launches-in-second-life.html

Works Cited

Atkinson, T. (2008). Second Life for Educators: Inside Linden Lab. TechTrends , 18-21.

Life, S. (2008). What is Second Life? Retrieved 2008, from Second Life: http://secondlifecom/whatis/

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Disclaimer

Any opinions expressed here, except as specifically noted, are those of the individual authors or commenters and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences, the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, or Utah State University.