Second Life Education

Second Life education opportunities are exploding in the Second Life virtual world. Many colleges, universities, and even high schools are setting up learning spaces in the land of Second Life.

Distance Learning

Second Life education opportunities have given a definition to distance education. Twenty years ago the only way to receive distance education was through correspondence courses. With this format you could only communicate with your professor through snail mail and could never interact with other students.

In the Second Life education areas distance education is instantaneous. You can actually go to a virtual classroom in real time, interact with your class companions and teachers, attend the class, see streaming media, network and participate in study groups. The experience is much more realistic than an eLearning (Electronic Learning) class through the internet.

Say What?

You may be wondering how this is possible. It does sound farfetched for anyone who has never visited Second Life.

Second Life is a virtual world where anyone can create an avatar and interact with others via chat in real time. This virtual world has commerce and entertainment. It makes sense that education would follow.

Access to Second Life is free. There are premium memberships for sale if you choose to become more involved in the virtual world by buying land or operating a business. You can access all education areas for free. In some cases you must have previously paid a fee for the class to your university or school and receive a special password before entering the education area.

Say Who?

You might expect the education areas to be populated by small or technically oriented schools. Not so, say Second Life experts. Big name schools such as the Berkman Center at Harvard Law School have set up classes in Second Life and given viability to Second Life learning.

You can learn about almost anything in Second Life. Classes are varied and not limited to computer science or technical content. In one university’s art history course you go on a virtual field trip to the Second Louvre Museum.

There are specific islands, or separate spaces, in Second Life dedicated to specific education topics. For instance, there are over 10 islands dedicated to libraries and archives like the Ivory Tower library of Primitives, Library and Archives at Space CoLab and Alliance Virtual Library. These libraries and archives located in educational islands are open for you to do research or for media specialists to interact on a professional basis. These islands are a great place for study groups to meet.

The Second Life education opportunities are endless. This aspect of the virtual world will only continue to expand with more and more educational opportunities for everyone.