on a dolphin
dancing
lying on the beach
on a jet ski
It was the first time I used Second Life and I found it a bit hard at first downloading it. I wanted to change my screen name and I couldn’t sign in again because there is a restriction of only one account per user. This is good of course, (eliminates deceives) but I couldn’t find a way to change my name. After downloading it I got the message that my computer’s system memory, the graphic card and the spu do not meet the minimum requirements needed. I’ve made a lot of efforts trying to navigate around because my screen was getting ‘frozen’ and I had to sing up again and again.
I found my self in a sea and I couldn’t go anywhere so I flew.:) then it moved me to a place ( somewhere in Korea I think) and there I’ve tried to make my avatar look a bit better. I can’t say I managed to do that.
My first stop was Paris and I got annoyed because I couldn’t find the Eiffel Tower. So I’ve tried to go in different destinations but I got really excited when I reached Hawaii Maui. I found it strange that I needed an invitation to get in. It was a private island so I stand there without knowing what to do. A minute later a girl invited me to join the group and we talked for a bit. I told her that I was a new to this thing and she helped me moving around sending me helpful notes to get started. She even sent me new clothes to wear. I got impressed because she was using a translator to talk to me. She wrote something in her language and appeared to me in English(!). I moved around the island and I got amazed by how beautiful they made it. It was ‘real’, I could actually do things there, like surfing, lying in a sun bed, swimming with dolphins, jet ski and dance alone or with other people. They all welcome me to the island but noone asked me where I come from or any other personal details. I really spend a lot time investigating the island and I got presents. (new clothes, haircuts etc).
After a few minutes playing around it reminded my ‘The sims’ the simulation game I used to play when I was younger but this time my avatar could actually move in a 3-d dimension and talk like I want it to talk and do whatever I like without getting hungry or feeling tired (like in sims). And I could move in ‘real’ or existed towns and places. That’s when I started talking to people I had to remind myself that the avatar is actually a person and not a machine controller.
I can’t say that Second Life can be used effectively for education purposes because it has so many distractions. I mean, when I found this island I spend a lot of time walking around without even realizing it. I don’t know if Second Life has a lot of opportunities to support education because I am a new user but what I can say is that it gives you opportunities that you may never have in real life. You can see how some places look like even if you never go there.
I personally believe that it may destruct students for doing an educational activity there because it has so many fun things to do. It’s like putting a book and a Play Station in front of a boy. He may have his book open but his hands will be in the remotes. A more mature student may have the ability to distinguish fun and learning but a primary school student probably don’t. But I have to use it more to have a clear opinion because I think there are many applications that I don’t know yet…
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