Second Life is still a black box to me. I just don’t get it. I’ve read articles about how Second Life is being used in different areas of education. It all seems really strange to me. Universities have invested money to building islands in Second Life and have classes that meet virtually. People make real-world money off of their Second Life jobs. I created an avatar in Second Life and lasted about 20 minutes before I gave up. As a teacher, I know that it is essential to use a technology myself before introducing it to students or other teachers. This is one of the reasons that I blog. I’m keeping an open mind with Second Life but for the moment, I am just not into it.
An article I read in the Washington Post gave me a glimmer of hope in understanding at least one virtual world (in development): Lego Universe. This MMOG has the hallmark characteristics of other virtual worlds like Second Life and Club Penguin – virtual money can buy more Lego bricks, players create avatars, and no “end” or goal to the game. Now this is a world I can get my head around. When I was a kid, I could spend hours building with Legos and Construx. The best part of Lego Universe – mom and dad won’t fuss at you for not cleaning up after playing.
(Lego photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/huladancer22/530743543/)
