Second Life in Education

Second Life in Education

The educational benefits to using Second Life in the classroom can be endless. With these benefits comes the responsibility to make sure our students are safe and not being exposed to inappropriate material. Can this be? Yes! Second Life offers a version that is just for students ranging in the ages of 13-17.

Teen Second Life is just like the adult version of Second Life including flying and creating your own customized avatar. Everything created is by students and the only time when adults are allowed in, is when a professor is giving a demonstration or lecture. One benefit for using Second Life is the cost to use it. The school would not have to worry about buying a program. It only requires a one-time 20mb download.

Using Second Life is beneficial to many subject areas. For example, a marketing teacher can have students design and showcase their projects in Second Life. This gives the benefit of seeing a creation in a 3-D virtual environment. A math teacher can improve his or her students’ math skills when building objects in Second Life. Students would be learning about coordinates, angles and using formulas when creating larger more complex objects. A foreign language teacher can have students practicing their speaking skills by chatting with other students in Second Life. http://digitalkatie.wikispaces.com/How+to+use+SL

Numerous websites are dedicated to showcasing how teachers can use Second Life in the classroom. http://sleducation.wikispaces.com/educationaluses Teachers can search categories for the types of lessons they want to make. When you click on a category the website displays the creator and how you are to use the lesson. This is a collaborative website that encourages other teachers to use Second Life and submit ideas or new ways to use Second Life.

Some colleges and universities operate solely in Second Life. Memorial University posted a video http://www.distance.mun.ca/media/files/secondlife/spotlight.php showing how professors can use demonstrations, simulations, create virtual laboratories, and use role-playing in Second Life. A great benefit to using virtual labs is that students can repeat an experiment without worrying about costs. Students were interviewed and asked their opinions about their learning experiences using Second Life. They enjoyed using Second Life and value the hands-on experience. One student in particular was very impressed with the recreations that can be visited in Second Life.

If teachers are worried that they will not be able to understand how to use Second Life, they should not worry. There are many free video tutorials available to get you familiar with the controls in Second Life. A great place to start would be http://imohax.com/heyavatar/. This website provides tips on how to create your avatar and goes into more advanced training. There are also numerous groups in Second Life that are dedicated to helping others use technology in the classroom. When you join a group in Second Life you are invited to meetings. Most groups meet once a week and will send reminders to their members to attend. Some groups ask there members what they would like to talk about. Using Second Life is a great way to communicate and share ideas with others.