Second Life is an online virtual world. You create an avatar for yourself and can travel around in the 3-D world. Educators have set up virtual colleges, classrooms, and so on in Second Life for instruction and advising purposes.
The Web 2.0 activity is to register for a free account and visit the Second Life Information Island.
So I registered, downloaded the software, picked an avatar and began exploring. I was supposed to be able to "teleport" but found myself wandering around aimlessly looking for anything that said library.
It seems like a cool idea. I mean I like to play the Sims. But, Second Life was clunkier than the Sims and I kept bumping into things. Frustration began to set in.
So I called my Uncle who works for a Florida school that I knew at one point had a virtual campus and student counseling service in Second Life. This is what he said...
"Second Life was pretty cool in the beginning but it got so huge, commercial,
and scary (you could actually get robbed. Peaceful librarians would take on the alter ego of assassins), that I became disinterested. We tried doing a virtual school there but it never took off. I really think the trend toward mobility in entertainment and education also sunk it. It isn't much fun on an iPhone. On the other hand we developed an Algebra I app that people can download from iTunes that has been a huge hit. Kids love it and they get to pass their math class."
and scary (you could actually get robbed. Peaceful librarians would take on the alter ego of assassins), that I became disinterested. We tried doing a virtual school there but it never took off. I really think the trend toward mobility in entertainment and education also sunk it. It isn't much fun on an iPhone. On the other hand we developed an Algebra I app that people can download from iTunes that has been a huge hit. Kids love it and they get to pass their math class."
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