#9 Virtual Worlds

Well the time has come to confess... I am a Happy Second Life resident and have been for over 2 years, although I don't go inworld so much these days. I usually jump in two or three times a week for short periods. However I have made some wonderful friends and learned so much from my adventures in Second Life. 
For some, the social aspects of SL are paramount. For me, at first  it was exploring the many worlds and environments ---- all constructed by ordinary sl players. Then I discovered the fun and challenge of building and creating inworld and that absorbed me for ages.  I learned to use Photoshop and Gimp, I attended inworld tutorials and created my own buildings, plants, waterfalls, gardens, textures, even had a go at clothing.
The reason I gave SL a go in the first place was probably  the same reason that most of us are doing this course ... to learn about what young people are doing online. To my surprise I discovered that most Second Life players I encounter are in in the 30+ age group. (perhaps it has something to do with the choices I make with my time while there!)
The potential for using virtual world educationally is certainly there and is being utilised to some extent.  The pics in the link below  show scenes from the Cybercity sim which hosts many library facilities from all over the world. Quite a number of reputable universities have a Second Life presence. Chat can be voice or text based.
I kind of like the idea of boardroom meetings being held across the globe while the participants hang around the Eiffel Tower, or do a little Tai Chi in Space or dance in one of the beautiful ballrooms!

http://www.vuvox.com/collage/detail/03dc94fe6c


By the way, Vuvox is a great site for arranging  and presenting a series of photos for websites and blogs. You can embed the collage intoyour blog etc rather than use a link but I haven't worked out how to do it yet.