I had never heard of Second Life until I met one of its developers, Philip Rosedale, about two years ago. He was the keynote speaker at a STEM education conference at the California Institute of Technology. Not only was Philip physically present, but he was also accompanied by his black leather chap-wearing, spiky hair topped, rough ‘n tough looking avatar who lives in a very modern house on an island in Second Life. In real life, he looks kind of geek chic – the exact opposite of his avatar.
The first part of his speech was just about showing us what Second Life is all about. He took us to nightclubs, parks, and even zoos. We saw other avatars walking around, and even had conversations with some of them – which could be very risky considering we were in a room full of academics and politicians. My first reaction was, “This is really great, but how does this relate to education?”
The answer to this question became apparent after Philip took us on a tour of a museum. This was not like any museum that I have ever seen before – the artwork came to life and the exhibits were interactive. There were physical models in which some followed the physics of our world, and some behaved like they were in out-of-this-world gravity confused environments. Then he took us to a real university campus where students are actually attending and taking classes, but many in the audience felt that this virtual reality is a little bit too adult-oriented for kids in a K-12 school. Then he took us back to his home island and explained that Second Life can have barriers and restrictions. He went on to explain that a school can be placed on an island, and the kids would not be able to “escape” (that is a word that I am using, but I don’t think that he actually used that word). We could take field trips, have supervised interactions with those outside of the island, and all of this could take place without any of us having to leave our “real” homes.
Second Life is a disruptive technology because it totally reinvents the way that we are able to communicate and socialize – it provides a new space to live and interact. It is very difficult to identify the technology that it replaces because it is so different and unique – there is nothing like it. It seems like it can replace our entire real world – one can live, communicate, buy things, walk around, visit museums, take college classes, go to nightclubs, sleep, and even have babies in Second Life.
I believe that there will be another disruptive technology that will displace Second Life. In his TED Talk, Philip Rosedale says that we as a world community want to experience information together, and this is the trend in how we are going to use technology. He goes on to say that currently when you use Amazon.com, you may be shopping for a digital camera along with 50 other people looking for the same thing, but you don’t know it. Where we are going is a more social way of using the Internet. The future of the Internet and technology will be that we will be able to experience everything together, and we will be able to interact with others on the Internet just like in Second Life.
The social benefits of Second Life are very similar to the social benefits of interacting with others in real life. It gives us a purpose in life, helps us develop as emotionally healthy individuals, and helps us make decisions and learn as social human beings. We are able to share information, interact in real-time, and have access to more to information and resources. As a teacher, I can envision a future in which students are able to learn in this interactive environment without ever having to attend a brick-and-mortar type school. On-line classes are very similar, but there are very few real-time interactions. Even though there may be a group of students taking the same class, the actual journey is essentially done alone. Using a social environment like Second Life, the experience will be very similar to going to a physical school, but it will be done virtually and with many continual social interactions. I think that this technology can entirely change the way that we envision education and learning.
Reference:
Rosedale, P. (2008). Philip Rosedale on Second Life [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html.
Lewie,
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome opportunity to have met Philip Rosedale in your first life (outside of Second Life). I have spent a few hours today trying to navigate Second Lfe (SL) and it has been a bit overwhelming for me. I would have done much better if I had gone on a tour guided by Mr. Rosedale!!!! I don't think that I am too interested in using SL in my first life as I have enough to keep myself more than busy. However, I agree with you regarding the potential educational benefits that await our students. If there are controls in place that protect K-12 students from inappropriate content and interactions, I am wondering why we don't see more in the mainstream K-12 classroom. Since you are at the high school level, maybe you are more aware than I am about that. Do you know anyone who teaches with it? I actually think that it would have been a great idea for Walden to have used Second Life for this class. It would have forced us to use a future technology within the context of our classroom experience. It would have been very overwhelming for a digital immigrant like me, but I would have been up for the challenge!
Mr. Chappelear,
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a wonderful opportunity to have met creator of Second Life in person. I chuckled when you mentioned he and his avatar are starkly contrasted; this is very typical within the virtual environments.
I premise that Second Life would be a beneficial in the realm of K-12 education. I can imagine endless possibilities; particularly within the Social Science and Science curricular frameworks.
I do concur with Cathy: it would have been an exciting challenge for Walden to have used Second Life within this class context; giving many an upclose and personal experience with existing future technology. Hmm... what a great suggestion moving forward.