First Time - Second Life

Well, I was eventually able to make a Second Life session this week, and I think that if nothing else I am more comfortable with the software than I was before we met. I had to admit to being a little suspicious of the software as something along the lines of a Sims on steroids, and to be perfectly honest, I work on computers everyday for "real" purposes like payrolls, student registrations, and programming of alll sorts...so the idea of me creating an alternate ego for myslelf and tooling around in a Kool Aid Man costume is really not all that appealing to me personally.

I am a huge believer in the power and necessity of communication...and there is a part of me that believes that subjects in a setting like Second Life are put in a position which either inhibits this type of necessary communication, or shows people expressing themselves in ways which could cause harm to themselves in their "first" lives...through porn, exploitation, inequity, and other fun topics.

To me, Second Life just seems like something that takes away from my time that I have in my first life..which is already too darn busy. Does this mean that I think there is anything wrong with Second Life as a whole? Actually, the answer is no...I think that Second Life is a great thing, and all the problems that I described in seeing it could be found in your local library...so I'm not going to bash it. It's just not something that I think I can see myself spending a lot of time in.

As for teh educational opportunites that exist in SL, I think that they are limitless. I really liked the virtual campus environments for the University of Kentucky, BGSU, and several of the others that I later looked into. I think that a wealth of topics and information can be found in these environments and a great deal of inspired learning can go on in these environments. I think that the variety and amount of information that can be shared is an overwhelming positive of a simulation like SL, and also the format in which it can be presented - a way in which all of our senses can be stimulated. This is a great opportunity for learning which educators should not pass over lightly.

As for the dangers of this technology- I think that the dearth of communication is critical to avoid, as we dont want to make a society of folks whose only form of communication with one another is through avatar or chat session. There is also the issue of age inappropriate material in SL, as well as the problem with the veracity of the information that can be found out in SL. This isn't Fox News, so we can be sure that all the information there is true (haha.)

However , I need to reiterate that we need to temper our fears and allow this technology to play out and let our children develope critical knowledge. I'm not saying that we expose them to porn in SL, but that we not eliminate all content out of hand..this idea backfires for those who wish to ban books and ideas, and it will happen again for technology like SL if we atempt to limit it.

just some of my thoughts...thanks for listening.