W2_Reading

Welcome to my week 2 reading and here I am going to show you a couple websites I am using that focuses  on my Action Research project on Second Life and online learning. I do hope you all take a nice visit to these sites to see some of the exciting things that can be done with Second Life for education.


Is Second Life a brave new world?

In this article, the author discusses how Second Life is currently still being kept at a distance just like in previous years when the internet was mainly run by geeks who were the fount of information, but now the internet has changed to the point where anyone can put out information and receive it just as easily. This is how Second Life is evolving too. The author then lists a few companies that are already using this technology, such as IBM and Cisco, and have paid employees to man their in-world areas. Ultimately, it is up to those who use Second Life to see how it can augment their real life rather than just be a complete recreation of it.

Introducing your RL students to Second Life

This is a blog by an instructor who works with Second Life and has it mixed in with their own curriculum. In this blog, the author talks about the main do's and don't's on how to introduce students to Second Life and be able to use it well. Some methods in this blog are very insightful as the author points out having students work in groups while doing assignments in Second Life will allow them to be able to adjust and learn how to work the program more efficiently as well as have at least a couple days to do a Second Life orientation for them so they can learn the basics on how to move around in the virtual environment. Other points are to also mix real life research with Second Life exploring so students can find relevance in what they are trying to accomplish. It is all about finding the balance to make using Second Life an asset in education today.

Educational Uses of Second Life

This is a good video that was created by three different teachers showing the many different educational uses of Second Life.  The teachers talk how Second Life can be used for many different classes in helping the student have a more visually striking experience in their learning. Whether it be sending them to a sim that has a museum on it where they can look at classical paintings to having them visit a virtual mock up of different locations around the world, Second Life can be tailored to just about any class out there. All it takes is a focus on what the teacher wants the students to learn while they explore through Second Life. The teachers also show different areas in Second Life to help bolster what they are talking about in the video as well as showcase what other teachers have been using Second Life for.

The Power of Second Life

In this article, the author transcribes the speech given by Mitch Kapor, one of the chairmen of Linden Labs. The speech given by Mitch Kapor talked about how Second Life got started and how it progressed through the early years of its existence and where it will be heading in the future. Mr Kapor also talked about how Second Life is considered a disruptive technology. Disruptive technology is any technology that instantly causes skepticism and negativity. One such disruptive technology was the advent of the internet and PCs where skeptics thought that those would never truly amount to anything, but look at where it all is now. Second Life is going through that disruptive technology phase right now, where many still do not believe what Second Life can do for education as well as training.