Techlearning blog

I'm not a big bumper sticker fan but when I rode up on a person's bumper recently and read "Don't Believe Everything You Think", the current state of Second Life became clear and I found myself shouting "Man, I'm scared!"

For a year now, I've heard the teachers. I've heard the administrators. I've heard the educational technologists. They've been buzzing about Second Life. Some were ready to dive in head first while others were just dangling their toes in the water. Regardless, both were engaged in constructive discourse to build the type of research, resources, and approaches that would ensure, as much as possible, successful Second Life implementation. It was an amazing community! Over the last two months, things have changed and not for the better

Second Life is now in a position where more and more educators and stakeholders are entering Second Life because they've read a blog of a well respected educator or technologist, attended a conference that discussed Second Life, and saw much publicity in the educational journals. This is exciting! The more, the merrier. It offers the chance for an even better, more diverse discourse. The problem is that with the excitement of entering Second Life, a number of strong minds that could engage in constructive discourse have chosen to blindly accept it as the greatest thing in education!

Is it just the newness buzz like getting a new toy? Is it just the excitement of rubbing elbows with the leaders in education and educational technology? Is it just the fear that they can't challenge those that have come before them? I don't know. But I do know it is happening because for a little over two weeks I've been lurking in Second Life in disguise -- sorry to those that I've avoided while going through this experiment. Call it spying. Call it wrong. Call it what you may. I wanted to attend events as someone else so that I could sit back and listen to the "buzz" and really see for myself if what I thought was occurring was perception or reality.

The Comments
Take a look at just a small sampling of the comments below and you judge. All of these were taken from educators that according to their profiles have only been on Second Life since mid-April:

"Wow! Web 2.0 is dead!"
"How can I get my 1st graders in here?"
"Web 3.0 is where we need to focus all of our energy"
"This is a transformative tool and we need to get it into schools now"
"I'm getting all my classes into Second Life as soon as possible"
"Web 2.0 seems like a waste of time after seeing all of this"
"OMG, this is what education needs. This can be the means for reform"
"My teachers will be using Second Life to teach their classes next year... there's no question about it" <-- high school administrator
"This is what students are craving"

Like I said, I'm scared! These comments may very well be true but I for one am not ready to believe what I very well may be thinking. Sadly, these comments were never challenged, never questioned, never discussed. They were encouraged. While the excitement is great, I encourage, no, I implore all of you to enter Second Life with eye towards critical discourse. If you are attending an in-world conference, social, or gathering, don't be afraid to challenge those speaking on Second Life. Question everything! Education needs your critical eye, your critical insights. It doesn't need a massive following! If you have been in Second Life for some time, don't let the new people just follow. Force them to challenge and engage us in new ways so we are all walking side by side.

So, let's start! Let's put what we think to the test by challenging each one of these to determine if its perception or reality so that we can determine the true value of Second Life and being to maximize its potential.

My First Challenge
The idea that students are craving Second Life and other similar comments being thrown around Second Life as if they were factual need to be challenged: this is what students want, students crave this, this is their world, students would learn so much better in this environment, student embrace this type of learning , etc. Let's stop making these assumptions and ask the students what they think. What are they feeling about the possibilities of bringing Second Life or Teen Second Life into the classroom? How would they feel learning in this way? How would their parents feel?

One Student's Perspective
Carly F., a senior in high school, offers some interesting takes on Second Life in a column she wrote for her school's newspaper where she explains her stance on Second Life after exploring all it has to offer from an objective standpoint "including its benefits". The following is a portion of her column reprinted here with permissions from the newspaper adviser and student:
I've reached the same conclusion time and time again: We're doomed!

Beyond the idea that Second Life does not exist are the consequences society will pay. If we lose human contact, we lose our social skills. If we lose honesty, we're only assuring ourselves that deceit is a natural human concept. If we forget how to accept others as their true selves, we're only promoting more prejudice and assumptions. And if we think cheating the real world to succeed in Second Life is okay, we're wrong. We can't always get what we want, we can't always be what -- even who -- we want to be. But that's life. Real life. Second Life only provides a false sense of assurance that all of our aspirations can be met.

I don't want to take classes through a computer-generated lecture, because I'd lose personal relationships developed in a classroom environment, and human interaction is essential for human growth. I really don't want friends who have lied about their identity because those people aren't friends. And I don't need to waste my money on an imaginary house so I can buy imaginary clothes to look good at the imaginary club in the imaginary world. Way too much imagining and way too little reality. For now, I believe the bad outweighs the good, and I won't be joining Second Life anytime soon.

What are your students saying? Are they like Carly's or do they have a different perspective? How will we address these perspectives? The students need to be heard. They are shedding light upon Second Life from a perspective not being discussed or even considered by many within Second Life. Worse, if it is being considered, it is through assumptions that students will love Second life. Have you asked your students if they are on Second Life or Teen Second Life? What are they saying about it? Have you talked with them about it to get their thoughts on it being a part of the classroom? If not, why? If yes, what are they saying? Have you been able to substantiate the claim that this will improve student learning: quantitatively or qualitatively?

Return to Critical Discourse
I'm excited about Second Life. I'm excited about more and more educators joining the adventure. However, I hope those new to Second Life engage in critical discourse by challenging ideas, challenging assumptions, and challenging the elders instead of following blindly. I also hope that the elders refuse to allow people to follow them and instead challenge them to walk side by side as this journey continues. Remember, it isn't about being the first to make claim to Second Life. It isn't about making the talk circuit on Second Life. It is about developing a community of educators striving to determine how to best approach this potentially great tool.

Thank you to Carly F. for allowing this article to be reprinted. Your powerful voice is refreshing and hopefully much food for thought for educators around the world.