Second Life Experience

Everybody loves video games. I remember playing Mario Bros when I was little. Then, I moved onto playing The Sims and in other virtual worlds. These virtual worlds were very interesting. They offered me the opportunity to create and experience unimaginable things. One of these was to connect with people around the world and learn about other cultures. This is what got my attention most of the times I decided to create an account in a virtual world game. Today, I thought those days were gone. I thought I had move onto creating and experiencing those unimaginable things in the real world. I would have never imagined that, after almost a decade after, I would be experiencing this as part of a class.

This quarter, I was introduced to Second Life, a virtual world. I had never heard of Second Life before this class. My instructor introduced me to it. At first, I thought it was going to be something boring and pointless. I never imagined that this “game” could have a lot more to it.

 My second life experience was very interesting. I was able to create my own avatar and adjust its appearance as many times as I wanted. In addition, I had the opportunity to visit several worlds. This was the most interesting and exciting part of it. I thought that the design of each world was very well designed. There were some worlds I had the chance to visit that had museums built in them. Other worlds had “classrooms,” houses, planets, islands, beaches, and many other things. Also, I had the chance to meet with people I knew as well as with people from around the globe.

Meeting people from other places seemed exciting at first, but when a teacher decides to use this space as an educational tool, it may have its constraints. I observed that there were people who were there to socialize and learn from each other. Yet, there were others who had different intentions in mind. I did not get to see the worse of this game, but I read some reviews that explained the different cautions one has to have if intended to have children create accounts on this game. Nevertheless, I think that as long as they are supervised, this could be a good learning experience for students.

In addition to the avatar and worlds, I had the opportunity to create something. I used some tools to create shapes. I created a cylinder that later looked like a tunnel. I had in mind that I could use these tools to help my students learn about shapes. This could be a good learning experience for them. They could use the shapes to create many different things like bridges, for example. In addition to the tools, I think that the classrooms could be beneficial for teachers. It could benefit those who are teaching students in other parts of the world. It can be a way to connect and learn. Second Life offers the opportunity to create and share charts and videos. This could be useful for any teacher.

Overall, my experience with Second Life was very fun. I had the chance to look around and learn about the different things it offers. It has its pros and its cons. I think that this could be used as an educational tool as long as the children are being supervised at all times. It can also be used as a social tool to meet new people. Regardless of the intentions, Second Life could be a place for everyone. 

Resources:

Second Life

Eloise Pasteur Educational Designs - Second Life Skills Communicating

Benefits of Second Life in Education