Imagine meeting people online via an immersive virtual environment for work, play, or romance. This happens every day. Second Life is the most influential of virtual worlds in our current technology landscape.
Second Life is a disruptive technology. It provides an avenue for people to communicate, live a digital life with less restrictions or inhibitions, work from home, build personal and romantic relationships. It can be a considered an immersive social network that can be used for business but is in many ways more of a personal expression. I think that Second Life is already in decline and will be replaced by other new communication and/or social networking tools that will incorporate but not only be limited to virtual worlds. I think that Second Life has limitations in K-12 settings due to privacy issues, restrictions and the inability to manage Second Life from a teacher's point of view. It may have limited use as a teacher-centered technology tool. One recent study about Second Life in K-12 and Higher Education can be accessed here. I think Second Life will be gone in 3-5 years facing a similar fate as MySpace, which is currently in steep decline.
Micah
ReplyDeleteExcellent blog. I especially love your video links from PBS. I post the Digital Nation one on one of my social network website (Facebook).
I agree with you on the notion that Second Life has its limitations at the K-12 education system. Since these students are using it at home, do you think that a time will come when it would be used freely in the classroom?
Why do you think that Second Life is on the decline? Do you think that there are people in the world who have not yet accessed Second Life?
Micah,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think is causing Second Life to decline? What enhancements in technology do you think will ultimately cause this product to be a distant thought? I am an educator and personally know about all of the limitations that have been placed on particular applications. With the emphasis on using various products, it is so hard for me to see why such applications that encourage student learning are prohibited. However, that is one of the debates of the inclusion of such demands such as complete technology instruction. I think that it can be a useful tool in education, but for students in primary grade levels, it should be prohibited.
Micah,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I agree with you that Second Life is probably already in decline. I think social networking has replaced it all together. I think it had huge implications in how we work and live in our online worlds, but I am not sure it had the longevity that some would expect. Although, its marks are clear and significant.
Thanks,
Kevin