Warburton describes Second Life (SL) is a "multi-user virtual world platform". (2009) I have to admit that I have never used Second Life myself ... have only heard about it through other people and the news. As such, I did benefit from the two readings on Second Life and its use in online education as well as the "Creating Community with Second Life" recorded workshop by NC States DELTA. These opened my eyes to the possibilities of using Second Life for much more than a societal escape from ones own "real" existence. In my mind, it is these educational uses for Second Life that lends legitimacy and validity to the concept of a "virtual world".
While I cannot think of any way I could incorporate Second Life into my teaching of Statistics or Calculus, there would be plenty of uses for SL in other areas of mathematics such as the history of mathematics. I could have the students explore "worlds" such as Plato's Academy or the secret gatherings of the Pythagoreans ... if such worlds exist in SL.
In so many other areas, though, I think that SL would be an amazing way to open doors to explorations for the students. My husband and I are very big Frank Lloyd Wright fans and my interest was very much peaked when Amanda Robertson and Cathi Phillips took us into the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum! What a great way to have architecture students experience the works of FLW without actually going to Fallingwater or his famous Robie House (Chicago). The usefulness of SL in the sciences are also bountiful! The cell exploration, the space ship, etc. "worlds" are such vibrant ways to bring these things to life for students and get them to interact with things they might not otherwise be able to have "hands-on" experience with. And the art museum and historical tours you can take! SL becomes such an amazing new way for teachers to present material to students and have them truly experience the material in ways before unthought of.
The technology hurdles cannot be ignored, however. Some students might find it very daunting to participate in SL. Amanda Robertson describes the lengths to which she goes to prepare her students for their upcoming SL experience. I think that would be necessary. While students might really like the experience in the long run, they might find the work on the front end to be a little overwhelming. This might be magnified if their computer capabilities ... both user-related and hardware-related ... are not of the level needed for full participation in SL.
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