This article, "Future Directions for Learning in Virtual Worlds" by Mats Deutschmann and Judith Molka-Danielsen, concludes the book Learning and Teaching in the Virtual World of Second Life and predicts that "by the beginning of 2009 Second Life will be one of the most prominent virtual worlds in education" (187).
Of course that prediction was made before the former CEO of Linden Lab decided to give 30 percent of the personnel their walking papers in June of this year, and that percentage included every single employee at Linden Lab that was connected to the educational aspect of SL. Of course, it was a mere 18 days later that the CEO was stepping down and Phillip Rosedale, founder and creator of SL, was taking the helm once more. What this means for the future of Second Life in general and education specifically is anyone's guess, but many hope it means a return to some core values: one of those would be education.
In the meantime, I am still a firm believer in SL's potential for learning and education. I also agree with Jane Vella (quoted in this article) when she says, concerning learning, that "we respect life experience and their unique context and offer the task [learning task] as an open question, inviting their reflective response. Some learning takes place in the mind (cognitive), some in the heart (affective), and some in the muscles (psychomotor)" (qtd. in Deutschmann and Molka-Danielsen 185-86). The fact is we can do so much more in SL than we can in a brick-and-mortar classroom. The learning can take place in the mind, the heart, and the muscles when SL is utilized effectively.
Of course that prediction was made before the former CEO of Linden Lab decided to give 30 percent of the personnel their walking papers in June of this year, and that percentage included every single employee at Linden Lab that was connected to the educational aspect of SL. Of course, it was a mere 18 days later that the CEO was stepping down and Phillip Rosedale, founder and creator of SL, was taking the helm once more. What this means for the future of Second Life in general and education specifically is anyone's guess, but many hope it means a return to some core values: one of those would be education.
In the meantime, I am still a firm believer in SL's potential for learning and education. I also agree with Jane Vella (quoted in this article) when she says, concerning learning, that "we respect life experience and their unique context and offer the task [learning task] as an open question, inviting their reflective response. Some learning takes place in the mind (cognitive), some in the heart (affective), and some in the muscles (psychomotor)" (qtd. in Deutschmann and Molka-Danielsen 185-86). The fact is we can do so much more in SL than we can in a brick-and-mortar classroom. The learning can take place in the mind, the heart, and the muscles when SL is utilized effectively.
RSS Feed
