We recently discussed how nonprofit GlobalKids is using its recently-awarded MacArthur grant to use virtual worlds for education -- and how a peek inside their new program reveals a concentration on Second Life, which is surprising, when you consider that there are a variety of models for education-focused environments available out there.
Headway Strategies' Lee Wilson concurs; he's been attending the EdNet2007 educators' conference, and had the following impressions of a panel focusing on education in Second Life:
First off, I find it interesting that Second Life is getting most of the visibility in Education when other virtual worlds (Habbo Hotel, Whyville, etc.) are doing far more with K12 age kids and some have more intentionally educational content on them. Chalk it up to Second Life being a media darling and to good outreach from their Education team. If you are interested in this arena some of these other worlds merit a look.
During the panel, John Brecht of SRI's Center For Technology In Learning shared some lessons from a project called Lakamaka, a project that focused on language learning in context, employing a narrative thread built around travel and a voice recognition engine that lets players practice their foreign language skills without the need for native speakers:
Second Life is a big investment, but not where you think it will be. The software itself is free and content is inexpensive. It is expensive to train teachers how to use the new tools and it requires a high end machines (this alone is enough to give many schools a pause).Focus on the interactivity aspects - that is where the power lies. It is a great tool for collaborative interactivity, immersion, visualization, and simulation.
Don’t make 3D PowerPoint sites. This isn’t a good environment for virtual lectures, it isn’t great for media delivery (even with high end machines), and chat is better in RL (real life).
Integrate it into existing practice. It isn’t going to replace what works well, so spend the time to figure out how it can compliment the learning ecosystem.
Lee also points out that Brecht raised some useful alternative platforms to consider for developing in this area; Croquet, Sun's Wonderland, Multiverse and private worlds from Sony and Microsoft; Lee also recommended Muzzy Lane and Numedeon's NICE (on which Whyville operates) as potential options, as they have been built with educational uses in mind.
