This is my first time experiencing second life. It's very interesting when we get to change the appearance and clothings of our avatar. It was even more fun when we were given a treasure hunt to find some items. Having said that, I don't think I will be starting a second life anytime soon unless I am required to do so. This is because I would rather experience the real world than explore a virtual world. There is so much more meaning to doing the real thing than just moving my fingers over the keyboard. If ever one day I am done exploring the real world then I will turn to 2nd life to start my 2nd life.
This person in the video is Joe Sanchez from University of Texas. He explains some of the advantages of using 2nd life as an educational tool to replace mundane meetings, lectures and frontal teaching.
He suggests that there is more interaction between the students and the lecturer in the virtual world. More people can speak up and express their views. Students can learn at home using their laptop which is convenient and relaxing for them.
I agree with him to a certain extent. It is true that in an environment with classmates, student's feel more reluctant to speak up for fear of embarassing themselves. Now that they are behind their laptop screens, they can express themselves with relative ease. This might help them in their learning.
However learning from laptops means that they might have multiple windows open at the same time. So they might be listening to rock music, watching a movie, playing a game, all at the same time while "listening" to the lecture. Also, what makes learning fun sometimes is the classroom environment: seeing the teacher's expression when he is telling a joke, feeling the enthusiasm of the class for an interesting topic. These are very different sensations when experienced over the internet.
Are we moving to the stage where everyone is poised to have an alter ego in a virtual world? Would you know my real emotions, for example, when I am typing this blog? Its already quite difficult to read a person's thought face-to-face, whatmore over the internet. For now I cherish what little face-to-face meetings we have and hope when virtual teaching comes, I will be mentally prepared for it.
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The first instinct that most people have is to replicate what they do in one medium to a new one.
ReplyDeleteWhile you can meet and talk in SL, there must be good reason to do so. If it is easier and more logical to meet in real life, then I would not advocate the use of SL.
If, on the other hand, you need to meet with a few people in other parts of the world then SL makes more sense. Another scenario that is more logical is if you are learning a language (say French or Japanese) from a native speaker in another part of the world, and you are walking around in a virtual French or Japanese district.
The point is to provide rich educational experiences for learners that they would not otherwise experience in real life.
Point taken. Thanks.
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