Second Life To Teach Students Real-World Lessons

Balkin, A. (2008, January 31). Non-Profit Using Techn Non-Profit Using Technology To Teach Kids Real-World Lessonsology To Teach Kids Real-World Lessons. NY1 News. Retrieved from http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/78041/non-profit-using-technology-to-teach-kids-real-world-lessons-

Summary: This article discusses using virtual worlds to teach students real- world lessons. The non-profit organization, Global Kids, uses “Teen Second Life” to create islands where middle and high school students can learn and discuss issues. One program is Beat Bullying where students in America and students in London are working together in Second Life to create programs to educate teen on how to stop bullying in their homes and communities. Another area is Science Through Second Life, where students can perform experiments that would be too expensive or dangerous for a classroom. The video showed a student learning about volcanoes; the student was able to fly inside the volcano and witness what happened when a volcano erupted. That would never be possible in real life. Besides the science experiments, most of the programs can be done in the real world. A lot of people wonder what the advantage is to doing these programs in Second Life. The article’s answer to this is that the teens are having fun using Second Life, so using that engagement is an advantage to learning. Also, apart from a few pre-approved adults, only 13-17 year olds are allowed in Teen Second Life. That means that all the programs are run only by teens.

Reaction: I thought this article was interesting and agree that using Second Life has benefits in the classroom. I especially like the science experiments program; however, educators would have to ensure that it is accurate if they are using it for learning. I like that the programs are controlled only by teens. This gives students autonomy and confidence they may lack in the real world. Another important aspect of Teen Second Life is that the students collaborate with other students all over the world. This promotes diversity and may educate students on different cultures. I do, however, wish the article gave different answers or examples to the question about the advantages of Teen Second Life. I agree that engaging students while they are having fun is essential to learning, but I feel there could be better reasons to utilize Second Life in the classroom.