Background:

For the past decade, all levels of education have placed an emphasis on digital learning.  Digital learning is a broad topic that covers a variety of delivery platforms ranging from minimal interactions such as discussion boards and blogs to complete interactive simulations. (Clark & Mayer, 2011)  Second Life (SL) is one example of an interactive learning simulation. Second Life allows learners to create a virtual identity to participate in collaborative learning and socialization.

The need for an affordable, collaborative, virtual space was first identified by the University of Texas (UT) system. In an effort to create a statewide online learning community that could serve almost 200,000 students and 7500 faculty members, the University of Texas (UT) System “funded the creation of a virtual 49-island archipelago in Second Life (SL), Linden Research, Inc.” (Eaton, Guerra, Corliss, & Jarmon, 2011, p. 44). The concept behind the Second Life movement was to create a learning environment that allowed for real-time interactions between users from all backgrounds and provided simulations of educational information. 

Since then many teachers have turned to a Second Life as a virtual community to interact with and engage students.  This has not been without objections from administrations and students. Often, when an educator attempts to introduce new technologies or classes the most frequent objections are the costs or scheduling. Virtual worlds can help the educator overcome most restrictions imposed by costs because these 3-D virtual environments allow the end user to build, grow and simulate almost anything the “resident” wishes to develop. Scheduling class meeting times is expanded to include any student that can “log in” at a proposed meeting time without having infrastructure and overhead necessary for a traditional classroom setting. The 3-D virtual world of Second Life has numerous, diverse educational groups established within the computer based simulated environment. Some areas within the virtual world are referred to as “islands” that the avatar “teleports” to and many have been developed their inworld campuses to tutor, teach, engage the students as well as allow for simulated – or virtual online collaborative meetings or classes. Many virtual schools and universities participating in the Second Life platform have gone so far as to have built virtual offices, classrooms, libraries, conference rooms, museums and other features of the actual, physical campus that they are from or representing within the online world that is their community. Second Life has become an educational tool for several higher education institutions, as it has the potential to “engage students in interactions with the instructor and others in the class as well as with their environment…[and] build a sense of community” (Baker & Wentz et al., 2009, p. 59). Second Life celebrated a decade of web-presence in 2013. During that time period it 36 million accounts  were created and the virtual world grew to approximately 700 square miles! (Gray, 2013)   

Faculty reported using Second Life in several courses with impressive results.  One of the positive results referred to “a collaboratively supported environment and established peer relationships” (Eaton, Guerra, Corliss, & Jarmon, 2011, p. 50).  From the administration to students, all members associated with the project touted the opportunity Second Life provided to collaborative learning.  The only drawbacks noted on the project were faculty’s lack of enthusiasm for learning new technology most likely due to time.  From the student’s perspective, uninhibited exploration of Second Life fostered learning potential.  All segments of this project gained valuable insight in the uses of online interactive collaborative programs.  Second Life with its limitations, still serves the purpose of inciting learning.

Implementation in Education:

Baker & Wentz et al. (2009) gives a few pointers to instructors considering implementing Second Life into their curriculum. They first suggest having a justifiable educational objective before introducing Second Life to the students. It is also suggested that students work in pairs as they explore various environments and as tasks are assigned. The community aspect of Second Life is a key element of its success.

The 3-D learning environment can be explored to broaden their knowledge in subjects like math, science, history, art, and so much more. SL offers students a chance to connect, chat, and interact with other students from around the world, which makes SL an ideal setting for implementing the principles of constructivism (Thompson, 2012).   Several museums and other landmarks have created virtual spaces for exploration. When carefully developing and designing classroom lessons, teachers can create group activities and apply constructivist content and social interactions (Thompson, 2012). Students have the ability to chat with one another in SL as they work together to complete group projects and assignments. SL also allows for students to discover and explore this virtual environment independently, at their convenience.

Second Life also provides students an opportunity to role-play rather than share experiences openly within a classroom. In one study, avatars with specific health disorders were created for a licensed clinical counselor and graduate student to “develop their mental health interviewing and diagnosis counseling skills” (Thompson, 2012, 48). These role-playing methods allowed students to fully engage, collaborate, and interact with other students in this realistic environment. This allows the students to develop and gain a sense of identity through their avatar (Atkinson, 2009).

Students who engage in constructivist activities and role-playing in SL will eventually develop a sense of community. This virtual interaction with other students from around the world, or even within their own classroom setting, contributes to this newly developed community that nurtures one’s learning experiences. SL is an ideal tool for on-campus and distance learning courses in any college setting (Thompson, 2012). 

Educators analyzing the various “educational affordances of SL” attempted to correlate these to courses they have implemented or adapted for use in SL.

A programming course demonstrated: 

The experience of developing objects, tools, buildings and various other items within SL utilizing its programming language allows the learner to “observe” the virtual world and “reflect” upon what they have “created” as the learner has visualized as compared with their idea or plan.

In a variation and more detailed model, educators looked for “educational affordances of SL” within the 8 Learning Events Model:

Review of Implementation:

Recent feedback from the tech cognoscenti observed that despite the formally prodigious efforts by every college and university to invest in Linden Labs SL (Second Life), that the “virtual real estate bubble has burst,…” (Ramaswami) Educators admit that while SL had/has the capability to address the expanded ways in which we learn, there has been a significant drop in interest, attendance and usage in the 3D virtual world. In the journal article by Mayrath, Traphagan, Heikes, and Trivedi, the group determined that the student’s perception of SL was that it was “…unintuitive or ‘not very user-friendly and not good for self-learning.” In further analysis the group observed that many educational failures were due to the fact that there was not a clear learning objective, whereas the course context was not directly relevant to the use of SL. The university faculty at UT determined that in order to adapt course content into a 3D virtual environment/world there may be a “steep learning curve” as well as a need for great technical support in order to maintain these virtual environments.

In the analysis by the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, Authentic Learning for the 21^st Century: An Overview, we read how the numerous features that can be found in a 3D virtual world could theoretically elicit a combination of learning events for virtually any number of various learners, when the fact of the matter is implementation of technology into the classroom sometimes moves slower than the advances in technology itself. Students were said to have a “cognitive or cultural disconnect” with the “real-estate model” that is a part of Second Life. “Cutting-edge” technology was developing in the real world, within games, the internet and other online devices while the SL platform seemed “stagnate” and slow as opposed to graphics and real-time motion capture devices being utilized within Microsoft’s Kinect system and other similar technologies.

Conclusion:

Just like any other typical virtual world, Second Life as some advantages and disadvantages. Using this platform, professors gain the opportunity to simulate “face-to-face student-faculty and student-student interactions” (Baker & Wentz et al., 2009, p. 61) within every class, which is especially helpful for online classes. Second Life can be used as a lecture hall and a meeting place for classes as professors and students utilize the built-in chat feature. Once familiar with program, students can contribute to the virtual learning experience by generating content such as “objects, buildings, furnishings, and landscapes” (Baker & Wentz et al., 2009, p. 60). An average classroom encompasses a variety of personalities including extroverted and introverted students. Interacting and navigating through Second Life as an avatar could potentially spark more participation from those reserved students. Most students are unaware of how to navigate and converse through Second Life which initially poses problems and could discourage those students who are reluctant to embrace new technology.

Like all educational tools, educators must carefully identify how and why they will use Second Life in their courses. Second Life has the potential to increase a sense of community in e-learning courses, but it can also lead to frustration with the new to technology and the technology savvy participants. Of all the technology-based tools available to educators, Second Life’s virtual world has great potential for creating community based learning centers when used appropriately.

Works Cited