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Extending the virtual classroom
Friday, November 10, 2006
I'm always on the lookout for new and innovative learning opportunities, like these virtual classes you can find in Second Life. Topics range from strictly inworld issues, like changing your avatar's appearance, to courses targeted for real life applications--for instance, sales management and leadership strategies, getting familiar with Microsoft PowerPoint, or administration for Cisco's enterprise-class voip internet phone systems.
So what is it like inside Second Life (SL)? For starters, you can create an avatar alter-ego that looks like pretty much anything you like. My son happens to have achondroplastic dwarfism, so for fun I made my "avi" a little person, too. I also gave her wings, because you can fly in Second Life.
Using the Search function that's built into the SL user interface (UI), I found a whole bunch of places where classes were being held. The facility I chose to visit is called NETg, one of the leading corporate training companies, both inside SL and out here, in the real world. Classes start at a specified time and you can arrange to get a reminder note with a teleport link in it so you won't forget. Once you get there, you'll have to walk or fly from the main teleport area to your classroom, which is in a no-weapons zone, so there's no need to worry about getting sniped while you're checking out the local color. Here's what I saw:
In front of the building where the class room is located
Getting ready to go into the Cisco classroom
Bank of computers in the lobby
If you need a break, there's ample opportunity to relax on extra cushy chairs, couches or pillows; shoot a game of pool (1 or 2 player); or dance in the ground-floor Club.
And that's exactly why learning in SL is so intriguing...it's really meant to be an immersive, long term experience with all the amenities you'd hope for in real life.
Class formats run the gamut from those that are basically a series of notes, to video podcasts and a growing number of live classes, where the participants and the instructor can speak to each other in real-time, through one of SL's third-party voip solutions.
