Second Life
i have been hearing more and more stories about people who are using virtual reality in their teaching. now, when i use the phrase, ‘virtual reality’ i used to immediately think about about a person putting on a VR helmet and a glove with sensors all over — the helmet would contain the virtual word and your eyes were covered so you could only see the VR world inside the helmet on the screen. while that technology is still emerging and being developed, it’s not something that is even remotely close to being common in any classroom. that being said, there is a VR world that is much closer to being realized — Second Life. Second Life is something I first heard about from my buddy Robert. Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. i am now a resident.
i should clarify, i think i am a resident. i have created an account and updated my appearance for my avatar. but i have not paid any money as i am content to use the free version for now. the virtual environment is free to use, but i am sure there are perks when you start spending real $$$. i believe you need to spend $$$ to make money in this world. and money is used. for example, many people have their own houses and other inventory items, etc. and that brings me to my first experience.
Second Life starts you on a tutorial island which i completed fairly rapidly. actually, i jumped in a car at the end and sort of drove off of a bridge. the car tipped sideways and got stuck. i couldn’t get out and the car wouldn’t move, so i gave up and quit. i came back a few days later and i was automatically on another land/island with a lot of people around. i started bumping people, but everyone ignored me at first. then, someone saw my name “Jayhawk” and asked if i’d went to the University of Kansas (i had) and he explained that he had gone there as well. come to find out, this guy was 67 years old. he found out i was a newbie and offered me some documents to help me get going. he then added me as a friend and i did likewise — figuring the jayhawk family was good enough for me. all good. he wanted to show me his complex that he just built/purchased, so i allowed myself to be transported. this guy had an elaborate office building complex. and, i soon found out that he ran his own consulting business delivering speeches about changing attitudes. people actually use Second Life for business purposes. hmmm. this guy had a few rooms full of chairs and he could actually get folks there and then speak into a microphone and the real people could hear him do his real job in this virtual environment. amazing. well, it’s amazing until i realize that this guy is seeing me as a potential customer. that’s when i decide to end my second session . . . again stuck. doh! heh.
this guy wanted to continue his spiel so i took about 5 – 6 days off. i then logged in and quickly dropped him from my friend list and made sure he couldn’t see when i was logged in. whew! safe again. i made some island greeting point my home since i have $250 to my name and i am sure land costs well above that. in S.L. you can fly, which is pretty cool. so i took off and just headed in one direction flying. after a few minutes, i crashed. apparently you can buy airspace above your dwelling and property and block it off from regular folk like me. so, i headed back to land to walk around. i swear i landed in a XXX zone because there were scantily clad women pictures posted everywhere. i entered a building and it was clearly about sex — like a strip club. i wondered if people were really playing these parts or whether this was some sort of creation by one person using bot characters, etc. hmmm. i wondered whether people paid to watch their avatars (read: cartoons) do things that . . . never mind, i didn’t want to know and i quickly left. i then encountered a casino with nobody in it. yet, i could walk up to a table and gamble if i wanted — i didn’t. interesting, but i again left and kept flying. i eventually came to a neat house with open doors. i went in and nobody was home. i decided to make myself at home and fiddle around. it was pretty nice.
i don’t see the education application in my own experiences thus far, but i am not really looking yet as i am just trying to figure out how to best navigate the environment. i do know that one of our students at GVSU has created a museum (she’s an art teacher) and she’s placed paintings in this museum. her students can go into the museum and click on a painting. the painting will tell all about itself and help the kids learn more about the art. the teacher can cater the message being heard to help meet the course objectives, etc. that’s something that appears to be ideal for this environment. i am sure i will figure out much more in the near future. but, i am really trying to pace myself. i think i’ll make this my sunday evening experiment and that’s it. ;~)
Technorati Tags: Virtual Reality, Second Life
February 22nd, 2007 at 7:36 pm
I stumbled upon your blog through a Technorati search… first, let me say I like the layout.
I too have begun playing around with Second Life and pondering how I might begin using it as a teaching tool, but… what I found absolutely hilarious about your post (I even laughed out loud) is your mention of KU and the Jayhawks. My husband is a KU alumni and I always joke with him and his friends that KU is a cult because I can’t go anywhere (in Dallas) in one of his KU sweatshirts without being stopped by someone. I find it funny that apparently the same thing happens in the virtual world as well.
February 23rd, 2007 at 12:07 am
that’s funny because i make it a point to talk with anyone i see wearing KU clothing. fortunately, most of time the encounters are positive. this was the first negative encounter. but, it was probably good that it happened quickly and now i can be a little more on guard as i explore the world. thanks for stopping by.
February 26th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Hey Sean,
Nice new look. Finding educational sites within SL can be pretty difficult at first, and your best best may be using some external resources (rather than wandering around in-world hoping to stumble across educational stuff). I recommend joining the listserv at http://www.secondlife.com/education or checking out simteach.org. The single best SL education spot, IMHO, is the New Media Consortium Campus. Check out their blog–it’s called the NMC Observer. Hopefully, these sites will get you going in the right direction. And I’ll look for you in-world.
February 28th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Hi there! It’s great that you’ve discovered Second Life. (Beware — it’s addictive.) I too highly recommend the SL Educators listserv (SLED), mentioned in a previous comment. These folks are incredibly active and just waiting to help other educators out.
Just one clarification: You do not need to spend money in order to make money in SL. With the free account, you can basically do anything except own land. With your free account, you’re able to build objects, then turn around and sell those objects and make money.
IM me some time when you’re “in-world” — my avatar’s name is Katrina Sol. I can send you landmarks for great educational locations as well as places to pick up freebies (clothes, textures, etc.).
My univ’s island rezzed in January. We’re still in the process of building it, but it’s coming along slowly. Feel free to TP (teleport) over to “UTD SOM” to check out our educational island.
Have fun!
February 28th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
ah thanks for the comments. i just joined the listserv and get daily digest. i plan to check out the educational sites (including yours katrina) . . . perhaps even tonight. i am really looking forward to seeing more of the potential and/or examples soon. i am encouraged by the enthusiasm that so many others are showing.
May 18th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Well, this I have definently hit the wall with trying to find educational blogs that aren’t from nutcases! First, i’de just like to thank you for letting this be an option..I was going a little nuts. On that note, we can start this mini-discussion about ‘Second Life’.
To start, when I first read that it was a vitural realiy based program, my mind immediately warped to watching Star Trek with my uncle. Seeing hallograms and stuff like that, I put it all in the same category. Also, you use very good imagery with your descriptions, because I felt like I was in your little ‘world’,
However, I was really interested to hear about how it was being used in education and I must admit, the gears started turning in my head. You mentioned that a student made a museum and used it for her classroom…what a GREAT idea! Being a future French teacher, I keep stessing on “How am I going to keep my classes interesting from day to day?” Second Life is right up my ally. I can see my own world: Walking down the Champs-Elysees and turning and what is it?! It’s the Arc d’Triumphe! Walk a little farther, you see the Luxembourg gardens, la Musee d’Orsay, until whop! You stumble upon the Louvre. As you can see, the gears are turning fast now: We could also go to the Temple of Versailles and take of tour of where Louis the 14th slept, see his gardens, and read of about the history of France during the 17th century. Now Sean, I know you’re on the edge of your seat to know where we are going next…Le Tour Eiffel! We can climb the stairs and see out over Paris, there’s Sacre Coeur, l’Arc de Triumphe, the Louvre, Napolean Tomb, all of Paris is at your fingertips.
Money and budget aside, I think that this tool would be extremely instrumental in teaching. It’s hard to explain to students how great something is if they have never seen it. Granted, i’m not fully aware of the lengths to which this program can do, but even standing in a Paris street looking around in a virtual world is better than students taking my word for how awesome it is. Also, it would be nice to have a ‘change of pace’ in the everyday grind of the classroom!
May 18th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
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May 22nd, 2007 at 2:39 pm
I promise you Kristyn that we’ll spend some time exploring the merits of Second Life in our class. I do appreciate the time you put into your response and I think you have some great ideas included. Kudos to you.