Second Life is a free online virtual world that was created by Linden Lab in 2003. It is the leading 3D virtual world filled with user-created content and interactive experiences. In Second Life, “residents” can interact with other residents, explore various locations around the world, enjoy the arts, experience the sciences, and can create communities in which to learn and live virtually. Most important, however, is Second Life’s involvement in education.
Second Life combats the economic pressures from budget cuts and rising costs of education by offering a virtual classroom setting. Hundreds of colleges and institutions are including virtual learning components into their curriculum. Some are even hosting entire courses in virtual worlds like Second Life. Students can work together, the space is always available, and the geographic location is not a limiting factor. Furthermore, Second Life offers the opportunity for virtual field trips. For example, anatomy students can go inside virtual organs, art history students can examine a virtual Sistine Chapel in great detail, anthropology students could examine the culture and environment of both current and historic communities, and so much more.
Second Life is based on a social networking platform, and therefore, students are more inclined to become engaged. The virtual world also requires participation. If a student leaves his or her computer, the avatar will slump into a sleep after a period of inactivity. It is a powerful simulation and modeling tool that can also create bridges between universities and institutions. This bridge will allow for a community of learners. Also, the accommodation of both synchronous and asynchronous learning makes differences in time zones and people not a limiting factor.
The global impact of both reaching students and green design is leading to a new world of education. James Madison University has joined the effort, and more information on their involvement can be found at the following web addresses.
JMU SL Website: http://www.jmu.edu/secondlife/jmusl.html
JMU Public Affairs: http://www.jmu.edu/news/madisonscholar/SecondLife.shtml
CFI Website: http://www.jmu.edu/cfi/events/specialevents/10-11/secondlife/
Create an avatar today, and begin exploring!
SL Website: http://secondlife.com/?gclid=CMX0yPO9mKwCFcp65QodUQUUOg
Amanda, this is such an intriguing post. I had only heard of Second Life briefly when it was mentioned on television shows discussing gamers who get caught up in their virtual lives, so it was interesting to read how Second Life is being used in education. I love the idea of online classes being taught in "virtual classrooms" that are far more realistic than what is involved in online classrooms like Elluminate. While we were in Elluminate for class tonight I was thinking about how strange it is that our entire class is staring at a virtual whiteboard without being able to see each other and clicking buttons to signify if we are clapping or smiling. (Key'Nita's Elluminate malfunction that caused her to clap nonstop for awhile sparked this!) Actually seeing those responses in a virtual classroom could make the online sessions so much better. The sleeping avatar would definitely encourage students to be more active in the online sessions, too!
ReplyDeleteI could see lots of new research based on using Second Life in academics. It would be interesting to hear from students who have used Second Life for classes and find out how their participation and focus differed in the online environment of Second Life compared to traditional online classes and traditional classroom based classes.
I love this idea, virtual reality classrooms is such a good idea, from the post it is nothing like Ellumintate, its seems like it would be a lot more interesting and way more fun. I did not enjoy my Elluminate melt down yesterday, I had no idea I continued to applaud throughout half of the session. With any type of technology there are going to be some malfunctions it would be interesting to see what type of malfunctions Second Life goes through, I couldn't even imagine.
ReplyDeleteLike Marissa mentioned it would be interesting to hear what other students who have used Second Life think about it and to see how they interact with other students and to hear about there experiences would be cool.
I love that fact that you can create your own avatar, that seems like a lot of fun and it makes the learning experience sooo much more personal. I think I'm going to create my own avatar!
Second life is such an interesting concept for me. I do not play the Sims or any other avatar based computer game, so the idea of learning in an virtual world as an avatar is not the most appealing to me personally. I do see the benefits that Amanda mentioned and like that it can be utilized by many different disciplines. My only concerns are that some students who feel like me will not be the most enthusiastic students in Second Life classes and of course, to participate in Second Life you need computer and internet access, which is something not everyone possesses.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that something like Second Life online classes would be much more interesting than Elluminate online sessions because they are more engaging. It would be much funnier to see KeyNita'a avatar clapping nonstop (or doing something else random) then the little clapping icon in Elluminate. It seems like a much more effective way to ensure that students are actually paying attention since avatars "sleep" when they are inactive. With other online sessions this inactivity/disconnect from the class is not as easy to notice unless a participant is not responding to questions/prompts.
Although I made a Second Life avatar once for a class, I do not have too much familiarity with it but heard how interesting it is. The main way I've heard it being used is to host work meetings between those who are across the state, country, or even world. This cuts down travel costs, is much more convenient and like everyone has said, it is still engaging. I think using Second Life in the classroom would be very interesting, and from what I've heard it can also be a good tool to get students engaged in the learning. I don't think I would like Second Life to replace the in-class sessions completely, but I like the idea of using it instead of Ellimunate sometimes. My favorite part about it is the fact that you can take virtual field trips. That would be so cool to have all the class avatars visiting a museum or some type of place that pertains to their class.
ReplyDeleteI used Second Life in my Educational Technology class this past summer. We didn't go too in depth with it, but we did explore with it adn see what it had to offer. We actually used the JMU version of it, and were able to walk around campus and even go inside buildings, like Wilson. I have heard about professors using Second Life to hold class or even their office hours. While using the program, it reminded me a lot of an educational version of Sims. I loved playing Sims growing up, so I'm sure this program is very engaging for students. I think it has the potential to be very successful in the educaiton field.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about how professors can use Second Life for office hours. I have mixed feelings about that idea. On one hand, it could be a great tool for students who might view their professor as unapproachable or aren't necessarily comfortable asking for help. But on the other hand, in person office hours can be really important when needing extra help in an area, and I'm not sure how well that would translate to the online world. Sometimes getting help in person has more benefits.
ReplyDeleteI like how Melisa compared Second Life to an educational version of Sims. Telling students this could surely get them interested in "attending" the online classes!
To a degree, I understand the initial fascination so many have with the academic possibilities of Second Life. But other implications must also be considered when assessing the overall value of this product. In our modern society, face-to-face, real human interaction already seems to be lacking, as new technologies are rapidly replacing the need for face-time. So, is interacting in a virtual community really healthy for us, as a human race, and will it help us grow stronger as a whole? Communication allows all humans to construct meaning, and 80% of all language is strictly communicated nonverbally, and often subconsciously, using body language and facial cues. This makes me wonder what all we may be missing when chatting digitally or in a virtual world, and lacking 80% of all communication. I remember when I was constructing my 3D human model in animation class at JMU, and my professor engrained it into our brains that almost all communication can be found around the eye area of someone’s face when they are interacting with you, serving as MAJOR nonverbal cues. And…lo and behold…it rings true, as I now consciously watch the eye/eyebrow gestures of those communicating around me. Think about how our faces give away about how we are feeling in response to something. I’m sure the avatars that were created for Second Life were designed with advanced animated characteristics, but there is only so much that a computerized model can convey.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I read about many concerns for Second Life expressed in one article from Time magazine, (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1651500,00.html). Illicit behavior within the Second Life virtual reality has occurred amongst avatars/users, like child porn distribution and inappropriate virtual sexual activity. To me, this is a huge red flag, but this behavior is, in my mind, inevitable when a program offers such vast freedom to users. Of course not all, but some, users develop a false sense of reality from being heavily involved in an online virtual world. In their minds, reality and virtual reality cannot be separated but instead merge together. In such a virtual environment, one can do anything he/she chooses without the same repercussions established and enforced in the real world.
As an art major, I understand the benefits of self-expression, but I believe that people need to discover how to express themselves in the real world, in an appropriate way, rather than doing so in a virtual world, using an avatar as an instrument and facilitator of this expression.
I think the main question is: where do we draw the line?
My thoughts after reading this are similar to the idea of bringing Twitter into the classroom as Caitlin wrote about.
ReplyDeleteIt's primary function being social media makes me hesitate to believe everyone would be comfortable using second life to learn. Programs like Elluminate exist with the difinitive purpose of enabling learning, using a program that has "fun" functions such as second life, could blur the line between student functions and personal functions. As Raleigh asks, where do we draw the line.
Some classes may have a more relevant reason to use second life, such as media design, computer sciences, web-design and other related courses. On a large scale, it may not find huge success with the average student in a gen-ed history course.
Analyzing audience is key to selecting appropriate media for classroom use.
I enjoyed reading all of your experiences with Second Life, and I especially enjoyed the comparison to the Sims game. I played this game alot growing up, and the similarities would have drawn me into the virtual worlds if I was coming through the school system now. I have been playing with the website/platform more and there is so much to check out on the JMU campus in Second Life. I cannot wait to explore more...
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