Second Life-An Educational Journey?

Thanks to Leilani Benoit, from Dona Ana Community College, and her presentation at this year's Border Learning Conference,  I spent most of one day in Second Life.  Granted, I spent the majority of that time making my avatar look good, but I did learn to fly here and there.  Think of Second Life as a universe that doesn't require transportation (except a high-speed computer) and unlimited locations.  You, as an avatar you create, can visit places to learn, play, shop, and much more.

Second Life Logo

According to the Second Life Education Brochure,

Second Life is the leading 3D virtual world filled with user-created content and immersive experiences. In Second Life, Residents meet and interact with friends around the world, enjoy entertainment from live music to roleplaying games, explore unique environments and communities, and much more. Residents can also create, buy, and sell anything they can imagine, participating in the world’s largest user-generated virtual goods economy.

 As I wandered around the Second Life universe, I had to ask myself if it was something that would be a great avenue for educational purposes, or if it would consume too much time to be effective.  As I researched the topic, though, I realized that many colleges and universities have used it successfully.

There are hundreds of educational institutes using Second Life.  Local Second Life sites include Aggie Island,  used by Dona Ana Community College, and EVE Galapagos, used by UTEP's island to study natural selection.  UTEP's  Instructional Support Services provides hands-on training for faculty to create avatars and to develop virtual islands for educational use, and UTEP has funded three islands with a grant.

I found my first visits to Second Life interesting, but not easy.  As a person who is, well, let's just say older than most of the twenty-somethings in my classes, I did not grow up playing video games.  Even getting Mario to jump up and hit the boxes to get coins was somewhat difficult.  So learning about a virtual world isn't second nature to me.  Many of our students and faculty, however, are much more computer savvy and would find it fun and easy to get to different islands to learn and play.

If you're a Second Life resident, let us know about your educational experiences.  If you haven't flown in to the world of Second Life, give it a try.  Create your avatar and see what you can find on the islands.  Do you think it's something we at EPCC should pursue?

Thoughts, please.