Blog #7 Second Life

As a tech junkie the possibilities of Second Life captured my interest from the start. I signed up, I learned how to navigate, I explored, I learned how to fly! Then I fell into a chasm from which I could not escape without exiting the program. Another visit and I was propositioned, walked unexpectedly into a building with materials I rather wish I hadn't seen and ran into a stranger naked from the waist down. Is this a place for education? I'm not so sure.

While in real life there are protections from inappropriate materials inadvertently appearing before you without legal repercussions the same does not hold true in the virtual environment. At most the offending avatar account may be cancelled – yet nothing prevents the creator from establishing another.

As these environments become ever more pervasive in our culture the dangers become ever more real and, more importantly, can invade the real world. Examples of such are found as early as 1994 and included everything from Second Life affairs ending in real-life divorce court, virtual rape (the perpetrator's account was cancelled), and the theft of virtual property worth $800 – that's US dollars not Linden – that resulted in a real life murder (Tennesen, 2009).

Besides these unsettling incidences there are of course valid, legitimate regions to visit for both recreational and educational purposes. An educator can locate plenty of resources once they have mastered the art of the Second Life search. From ideas on how to use Second Life in the classroom, to providing virtual displays, to actually holding class in Second Life, there is something for every instructor (Atkinson, 2009). The ability to take a class on a tour of a museum such as the Dresden Galleries well illustrates the educational possibilities of the environment. However, the steep learning curve and hardware requirements and a glitchy interface make the users experience mediocre at best and virtually (pun intended) useless at times.

Take for instance a recent class trip to a Second Life ballet. The culmination of four months hard work, the sets were exquisite, the music majestic, the costumes marvelous, the performance beautiful – all when my high-speed connection allowed it to be viewed fluidly and without jarring, stuttering jumps. Undoubtedly, as technologies progress the Second Life experience will improve. In fact, some of these issues are surely being addressed as a "top-to-bottom overhaul" of the Second Life website rolled out August 26th which promises easier use and exploration and the launching of "Themed Private Regions" as well as future improvements (Linden, 2009).

Indeed, for those who have the funds to host a significant Second Life presence, the virtual world can offer a significant, cost effective solution for gathering far-flung students or employees for various classes and functions. By saving on travel costs, location rental, and the lost production time of the attendees, the overall expense of the virtual campus in significantly less than their brick and mortar counterparts. One company saved $165,000 real-world dollars by hosting an event in the virtual world (Korolov, 2009).

There is a trade off for these benefits however. Much of the interpretation and absorption of a presentation often happens in those moments between presenters and after the official event ends when attendees discuss and critique the content. Though there is the opportunity for attendees to gather socially in Second Life they are far less likely to produce the spontaneous conversation often generated in the hallways. This cost of this trade off has yet to be determined. So far I haven't found any studies that can determine the value of the real-world social interaction outside a planned event or class.

For now, offering a class in Second Life is certainly a viable option for today's instructor who has the time to master the intricacies of the environment, the funds to maintain or rent a region for class and to provided L$ (Linden dollars ) for student project uploads, or the willingness to take their class to public locations seemingly unfettered by public decency laws.

But for one high school in particular, the virtual realm is already a reality. Awaiting approval by the Massachusetts Department of Education, the Roxbury Institute of Technology plans the opening of a "mixed-reality" charter high school in September 2010.

References

Atkinson, T. (2009, July). Instructional Resources. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning,53(4), 23-25. Retrieved August 27, 2009, doi:10.1007/s11528-009-0300-z

Korolov, M. (2009, August 26). The 'Pablo Picasso' of virtual meetings. Posted to Hypergrid Business. Retrieved August 27, 2009, from http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/category/features/

Linden, C. (2009, August 26). The new SecondLife.com. Message posted to https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2009/08/26/the-new-secondlifecom

Save money with Virtual' meetings. (2009, June 25). Commercial Motor, Retrieved August 27, 2009, from Business Source Premier database.

Tennesen, M. (2009, July). Avatar Acts. Scientific American, 301(1), 27-28. Retrieved August 27, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.