I think there is great potential in what second life has to offer in the realm of education. How amazing would it be to offer students a virtual tour of the Great Wall China, and as they take their virtual tour, they will be guided by real life tour guides. What an experience for students to collaboratively work with peers from China, South Africa, and Peru on a science project in an immersive digital environment. Students can take seminars from renowned experts from various fields. They can practice speaking a new langauge with native speakers. They can also go back in time to explore periods such as the Rennaissance. Through an environment like second life, students will have opportnities they would otherwise never have had. They will also have the valuable experience of working with people from various parts of the world.
Old teaching methods are fast becoming antiquated. Educators need to find a new way to reach this video-game oriented generation. I attended a conference where one of the speakers is member of the school design team of Quest to Learn in New York, a new school focusing on the uderlying form of games as a pedagogical model for 6th-12th students.
The school library can play a major role in this pedagogical shift, as a leader in implementing new technolgies. Just imagine library orientation and tutorials as games played in Second Life.
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I came across this memo from a Pew American Life study from December 2008 on Adults and Video Games
It describes how virtual worlds haven't really caught on for gamers, although the percentage of young adults that have visited one is higher than the percentage of adults who have.
We might see virtual worlds in the future that incorporate more gaming aspects and are more interesting to gamers. I think things like Second Life will have to go through one more metamorphosis to be both useful and draw more peope in.
I work with young adults, so I definitely see their interest in virtual worlds such as The Sims, which is, to me, very similar to the concept of Second Life. I have also observed students spend hours creating their avatars for their Yahoo! accounts. Thus, with the population I work with, I see a strong possibilty of integrating virtual worlds into the library program.
I do agree that Second Life, in its current state, needs a makeover.
I hadn't even been thinking about The Sims, and that's a great point. I think the difference between Second Life and The Sims is that Sims is set up with more structure-as a game with goals right? Second Life seems like more of a free for all.
I think if libraries are interested in setting up in virtual reality, they might be more successful if they incorporate more gaming elements, rather than just relying on the virtual world to draw people in.
Hi CJ,
I really like your ideas for education, sharing, and learning in other countries. I can see this working really well.
Sarah Naumann