Wednesday, February 17, 2010

My Second Life Experience

Second Life was a very interesting experience. I had tried several times in the past to navigate around in Second Life to no avail and would just give up. I was a bit nervous when I was told that my class would be taking place in Second Life instead of the regular classroom. But, I must admit, it was kind of fun. I especially liked it because I was experiencing it at the same time as my classmates so I would not be the only newbie. While there were a few difficulties with the sound and navigating around, they were minor.

My adventure began with my seven classmates and one instructor in a building that contained a photo wall of the program I am in. Together we moved around the building. learned how to sit around a conference table, and meeting on the rooftop, which, when you zoomed out, appeared to be floating in the clouds. Next we were given a note card with various places to visit.

Another classmate and I decided to fist visit a replica of the Sistine Chapel. We entered the chapel and flew up to the ceiling to get a better look at the painting. I could see how this may benefit an art class to get up close and personal with the painting. While this was pretty amazing, there was not much to do up there.

We next decided to go to a beach and experience a tsunami. It was phenomenal how the tsunami came and covered the beach and the buildings. While we had looked for other things to do there which were indicated on the note card, both of us ended up under the water. I ended up in another area next to the tsunami but did not explore it as I had limited time. Plus, I was afraid I would not be able to find my way back. We lost each other for a while but did reconnect and then decided to move over to the Space Island in the hopes of exploring the stars. We really wanted to fly in the Gemini Rocket but, unfortunately, ran out of time and had to return to the virtual college campus.

Teleporting is very cool and easy to move from place to place. I do not know if Second Life has educational benefit or not. While I think that there are many places set up for educational use, I am not sure how receptive the administrators or parents would be to using Second Life. But, as for my own second life, once I free up some time in my first life, I am going to return just to explore on my own.

1 comment:

Craig A. Cunningham said...

I hope you do spend some more time, perhaps experiencing how valuable SL can be for your OWN professional development. Then, if you let your imagination flow a bit, I bet you can see some educational possibilities....