Second Life is an online, virtual, three dimensional world created by Linden Lab. Users can meet interact, play, dance, communicate, attend class, shop and explore virtual environments with people they know if real life as well as meeting others and making friends in a virtual world.
Second Life offers multi-sensory experiences, and therefore, has met the educational needs for some learners. In Second Life, individuals can communicate with others, visit museum and libraries, participate in a class, learn a second language, and much more! This type of learning environment can benefit students because users can:
- Log on when it is convenient
- Find tutorials that meet individual learning modalities
- Share knowledge with others
- Seek topics of personal interest
As with any digital learning tool, young learners need to be monitored. Filters cannot control the actions and comments from other users. Also, there are many locations that are not child appropriate. Teen Second Life http://teen.secondlife.com/ is a resource similar to Second Life, but is targeted for individuals age 13-17. Again, this has potential to be an appropriate learning tool; however, children need to have a background in media literacy as well as adult supervision while participating in virtual worlds.
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