Second+Life

Second Life
 Second Life (SL) is a virtual world developed by Bongulo Lab that launched on June 23, 2003, and is accessible on the Internet. A free client program called the Viewer[1] enables its users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars. Residents can explore, meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and create and trade virtual property and services with one another, or travel throughout the world (which residents refer to as "the grid"). (Wikipedia). Second Life is now being used widely in the higher education community as it is a very cost effective and accessible platform, now used in over 300 universities around the world (Wikipedia). It is essential a virtual community, but has many application for education including being an information resource, creating inworlds and inviting classes to meet in Second Life. The advantages of this include the ability to demonstrate to practical elements of their course, hold discussions in real time, socialise and teach in a somewhat similar method as they would in a face to face environment.

Second Life still has its limitations including the restriction on access to those under the age of 18 and lack of accessibility for learners with visual or hearing impairments, but these issues are now being addressed. New tools have been developed to assist those with disabilities and a new Teen Second Life has been introduced for 13 -17 year olds.

The educational possibilities of this platform are extensive and show a real leap forward in online learning environment. A move away from one or two dimensional platforms to a more interactive, user friendly and accessible environment for both educators and learners.

The following video explores some of the educational possibilities of using Second Life in an Educational context. 

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