Linden Labs has made a couple of really big announcements that have the potential to make a large impact on its use in education. The first being the closing of the Teen Second Life grid, an area set aside for users ages 13-17. This area had the potential to bring SL into the secondary classroom and boost the use of virtual worlds in teaching. With the closing of this area the safety concerns over using SL in the age group becomes a greater hurdle and creates a harder "sell" for the innovative teacher looking to use this tool.
The second announcement Linden Labs made is the ending of the educational discount on regions of the grid used by non-profit/educational institutions. Many universities have set up virtual campuses in these regions and the increase in cost may outweigh the benefits of using SecondLife. Linden Labs has offered a renewal option, allowing these organizations the ability to renew for up to 2 years at the current rate. Although this may only slow the exodus from SL.
While both announcement are disappointed it may open up market for other virtual worlds to take hold in education. With options like Open-Sim and OpenCobalt already available will we begin to see a growth in their use? Is the potential for more education specific virtual worlds going to bring new players to the field? While it is too soon to see what exactly will unfold from these announcements I hope that the education world continues to explore the avenue of virtual worlds at all levels of education.
http://www.opencobalt.org/
http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page
The Journal - Article on Linden Labs Announcements
I also feel that is disappointing. I think Second Life really could have been an integral part of linking education with the virtual world. Maybe in the future this will change, but it seems for now, Second Life is the only program that I know of that offers such in-depth "virtual-worldness."
ReplyDeleteThat is quite unfortunate. Second Life has tons of potential for the academic world, and nonprofit sector. I am curious as to what percentage of nonprofits utilized second life as well as the 13 to 17 age range. I can definitely understand eliminating that age range because of all of the risks and potential danger associated with their use of the site.
ReplyDeleteEven though I feel second life is extreme in some cases and the lengths people take it to, I thought it was pretty cool in a sense of what could be done academically. I too feel that it is an unfortunate loss as there could have been great things to come out of it.
ReplyDeleteI understand that it is unfortunate that the grid for ages 13-17 has closed, but we must definitely consider the safety factor in this situation. Concerning the situation of academic use, it is very unfortunate. I would also be interested to see what percentage of users are within that age range, as Connie expressed as well. It really is a shame that the educational discount for non-profit/educational institutions have ended. I know it can lend a great helping hand to the college community, especially in times when students cannot meet in person, and need that interactive component Second Life offers.
ReplyDeleteI think the potential for more players entering the field of creating more education-specific virtual worlds is high if problems continue to arise that cannot be surpassed, or reasoned out. Just with any product, there is always one corporation that is ahead of the game, and slightly modified replicas of the same product are soon rolled out by other corporations shortly after. Software such as Open Simulator may be in what they still believe to be "alpha" and beginning stages, but it definitely shows potential for academic/business use specifically, sifting out virtual world users that are more interested in the gaming components SL contains--this may limit the safety threats people have been concerned about. Something to consider!