I finally joined the movement and created an avatar on the 3-D online space known as Second Life. Many theorists and researches are saying that this is the next learning context. As an assignment for class, I spent some time exploring the online space and its features. As a beginner, I felt my experiences were slightly limited. This made me conclude that it would be necessary for students to spend several hours getting acquainted with the technology before it could be more realistically used as a learning context. However, I do think it’s possibly to use Second Life as a learning context. Many famous cities, landmarks and even college campuses have been recreated to be almost identical to their counterparts.
I found an article written by Joe Terrell on the Battalion Online about his experience of taking an actual course through the Second Life program. Terrell took a course that required him to create an avatar in the 3-D space and search for the Texas A&M Campus. After finding the lecture hall, Terrell attended a very realistic class that allowed him to clearly hear and see what the professor was lecturing about. The only real downside Terrell found about his experience was that Second Life is just like any other technology in that it sometimes has trouble with lagging and freezing (Terrell, 2011).
Second Life could potentially be an excellent distance-learning tool. I think it provides more realistic interaction than any typical learning space like Blackboard Learn and Moodle. Second Life is also very intriguing and could easily add a little more entertainment value to typical online classes. This could potentially help online students to stay motivated and interested in their online classes.
However, there are also negative aspects of using an online space like Second Life. Because Second Life is very interactive it could also pose as an easy distraction to many students that might be new to the technology or simply are not being challenged enough.
All in all, I think Second Life has the potential to be a great way for students that are learning at a distance to be more involved in their classes and with their classmates and professors.
Terrell, J. T. (2011, January 26). Second life proves an effective learning tool. The Battalion
Online. Retrieved from http://www.thebatt.com/news/second-life-proves-an-effective-
learning-tool-1.1917426