Educational Resources

As we conducted our research and field trips on Second Life, we discovered the many educational resources it has to offer. Some of these resources include the ability to interact with the virtual world within the program. Second Life offers users the ability to travel to space and interact with the world around them. The Edutopia article mentions, because Second Life is a rough simulation of the natural world, with meteorological and gravitational systems, the possibilities of experimenting with natural and physical sciences are endless (Wagner, 2007). In a classroom, these instances can make using Second Life more engaging rather than reading about it or watching a video. Students can experience real-world phenomena through this 3D world. Another educational resource Second Life has to offer is the details offered when touching specific objects. In the world visited, you can get specific information, a brief history of the location, its importance, and even photos that relate to the location. Within Second Life, avatars can interact with each other and with objects and environments. Second Life offers tremendous creative potential in that users can create content within the virtual world, including buildings, environments, and objects (Baker et al., 2009). Another learning resource available on Second Life is the many famous museums and art galleries around the world that are available at your fingertips. The arts and sciences include many disciplines that can go hand in hand with Second Life's ability to display images and provide ‘virtual tour' functionality (Walsh, 2009). Using Second Life with the students can make learning enjoyable and accessible without having to travel in person.