Virtual Worlds and Virtual Education

The first time I heard about Second Life, was about 2 years ago when a neighbor in the dorms was playing it. I understood that it was a virtual world where people were free to do whatever, but I was in shock to realize there were very few limits. I have played several online games where you create a character and even join groups. Although this was fun, I never felt any real connection to any of the groups I joined. Games like World of Warcraft offer a similar virtual world, but the game limits you to a certain degree on what you can do other than play. After a lecture in my Ed Media class, I realized that games like Second Life have another use: Communication. Rather than joining and communicating like other games, second life may influence people to join to communicate. An example would be a student who joins second life to attend a virtual lecture the Professor may do in Second Life. This allows people to continue to communicate and learn while also doing it in a fun and exciting way. I was even surprised to see that colleges and business are joining Second Life and using this virtual world as another form of communication. I would not be surprised to find out that most major businesses and schools are using Second Life as a form communication. As of right now, I do not have a second life account, but if there was a reason like a class lecture, I would easily use that as an excuse to explore another world!


*images come from Second Life Blog blogs.secondlife.com