Techlearning blog

We have all read and heard about the "digital divide" when it comes to computer and Internet access, but I perceive a growing "knowledge divide" among educators when it comes to digital resources. In the edublogosphere, many people may take concepts like Creative Commons licensing, wiki collaboration, skype conferencing, and other things for granted. Yet outside the relatively small (but definitely growing) group of education blog readers, many of these topics remain unknown to teachers.

The virtual world of "Second Life" provides another example of this digital knowledge divide, which separates those aware the Second Life digital destination and the digital opportunities it affords. Mainstream media publications about Second Life are growing more common, like the article "The Web's Second Act" in the April 2007 edition of Southwest Airlines' Spirit Magazine. Articles like this one raise awareness of what Second Life (SL) is and some of the things people are doing in SL, but may not answer the question many educators likely have: "Why I should I spend time in SL learning about it, when I have so many other things to do?"

Like many technologies, SL can be utilized in moderation for worthwhile ends. Like videogames or even blogging, however, people can choose to spend an inordinate amount of time in SL to the detriment of their "real life" relationships and jobs. I know several adult educators who are admitted SL addicts.

Used in moderation, SL today offers two significant benefits for educators. First of all, SL is an engaging place for social networking with others with similar interests. Like the North American western frontier in the 19th century, SL seems to be full of places offering opportunities for gambling and nightclub (in old west parlance, "saloon") socializing. There ARE places specifically dedicated to facilitating interaction with other educators on more professional themes in SL, however. While no one can offer guarantees about what the other avatars with whom you'll interact in SL will say, chances are good you can meet other educators in these locales and engage in some virtual professional development.

One of these destinations is the International Society of Technology Education (ISTE)'s headquarters in SL. Presentations are regularly scheduled there, and docents are usually available to help you learn your way both around SL and around the educational opportunities present there. NASA's International Spaceflight Museum is another educational destination to visit in SL. At these as well as other SL virtual locations, educators have opportunities to meet, interact and learn from each other about experiencing life in a virtual environment as well as about professional learning ideas.

In addition to social networking, a second reason for educators to spend some time in SL is to glimpse the future of learning. As I described in a recent video in which my SL avatar flew around and teleported to different virtual educational destinations, it is unbelievable to both realize and imagine what a completely virtual world for learning does and can mean. We are traditionally bound by many limitations in the face-to-face world, especially when it comes to learning. Traditional learning models require people to physically come to a specified place, at a specified time, in order to learn. The online environment as well as the virtual world exemplified by SL challenge those basic assumptions. With a relatively fast computer and fast connection to the Internet, learners around the world can gather, interact, collaborate and learn in SL. We are just witnessing the introductory paragraph of an amazing story of virtual learning in the 21st century. Contrary to the perceptions of some, who view virtual learning as a lonely, isolated and alienating experience, interactions in SL demonstrate the connected and highly-interactive potential of virtual learning spaces for formal and informal education.

Second Life is NOT an appropriate location for K-12 students today, but it certainly can be an engaging and worthwhile destination (if visited in moderation) by K-12 teachers. Many colleges and higher education organizations have established presences in SL, and some instructors are even teaching in the SL virtual environment. The May 25, 2007 Second Life International Best Practices in Education Conference will offer opportunities for educators to learn more about what is being done and can be done in SL to promote learning.

Do you have time for a second life in Second Life? Probably not. The benefits of both doing some social networking as well as glimpsing the bleeding edge of technology-enhanced learning of the 21st century are strong reasons to at least spend a little time in SL, however. Young people today are growing up in a world very different from that of the 20th century, and few online destinations exemplify that fact more than Second Life. While SL destinations may not be suited for K-12 learners today, the virtual learning opportunities possible in SL will undoubtedly be an important part of education in the decades to come. To address the digital knowledge divide among educators, we need to better inform ourselves and the other educators with whom we work about digital environments like SL. Read more about the educational opportunities possible in SL on the official SL website page for Education.