Saturday, February 3, 2007

Blog Post #2

Videogames Grow Up: Using Second Life's Online Universe as an eLearning Tool
by Aaron Ragan-Fore http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Membership/SIGs/SIG_Newletter/Archives......

So you thought there was only one life to live well fear not there is now a Second Life! This is a MUVE (multi-user virtual environment) which is like a videogame online although all the characters are real people from anywhere in the world. To get a Second Life account visit http://www.secondlife.com, get an on-screen name also known as your own avatar and start communicating with others in this virtual world. I have an account along with more than 2 million other registered users.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has a Second Life headquarters on EduIsland as well as 18 other educational organizations.
Lisa Perez from the Chicago Public Schools Department of Libraries http://www.oism.cps.k12.il.us/dept_libraries.shtml , created a media-themed Cybrary City with a slideshow, computers, and readable books. The Second Life surroundings are filled with books and allow users to download poetry. On a coffee table there are instructions about the after school book club she promotes. Perez says, “It is not gaming it’s communication, creating, teaching, and learning.”

Perez is not the only one excited about this new virtual world of communicating worldwide it has sparked the imagination of major corporations and the media alike. It sounds like this may just be the beginning of a new and creative way to conduct meetings and connect people in a meaningful way with a touch of fun. I will have to sharpen my virtual skills and get my avatar ready for the next meeting of all the local librarians. See you on Second Life…

2 comments:

Michael Stephens said...

Great stuff. I am glad you are prepping your avatar for future meetings...no matter what happens or where it goes...you have had valuable experience.

wantonlife said...

Yup - always good to explore the new technologies, even if you may not use them all the time. I checked out SL, and though I don't plan to spend much time there, I at least feel slightly "literate" in that world now. Cool that you're one of the early adopters.