Disruptive Power of Second Life

Module 4
The Disruptive Power of Second Life

Second Life has the power to be a disruptive technology by creating a virtual world that allows us to reinvent ourselves and be anyone or anything we want to be. We as humans are social creatures and the experience of creating; consuming and exploring information in the virtual world is inherently a social behavior that many people want to experience (Rosedale, 2008). Having the ability to be creative and an entrepreneur in a virtual setting can be prosperous; or it may allow an opportunity to experiment with an idea before promoting and implementing the idea in real life.

In K-12 public education, the industry that I have worked in now for 20 years, I do not see Second Life as a disruptive technology yet, mostly because it is prohibited from student use, not to say that it could be allowed someday soon. One research article I found only explored using Second Life in a secondary school setting enacting role playing while simulating negotiation skills based on globalization issues (Ho, 2010). Elementary aged students could benefit from virtual role playing as well; however, it is not yet common in a school setting. Virtual worlds outside of school like Tootsville, Dizzy Wood, Xivio and Club Penguin appear to be more widely used and are accepted for younger students, rather than Second Life. This promotes the possibility of virtual worlds to displace computer CD games and other handheld video games.

There are many social benefits for Second Life and other virtual worlds allowing experiences that are rarely possible or impossible in every facet of life. The social implications of virtual worlds in education provide opportunities for field trips that would never be possible for students to visit in reality and also in the medical field opportunities for people with physical disabilities to participate in activities they never thought they would experience (Krueger, 2008). Second Life and other virtual worlds also have the potential to connect users isolated by geographical locations and social circumstances, enabling individuals to overcome their limitations of real life (Wood, 2006). This leads me to think that Second Life has an unforeseen amount of time left before another emerging or future technology replaces it.

References:

Ho, C.M.L. (2010). What’s in a question? The case of students’ enactment in the second life virtual world. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 4(2), 151-176.

Krueger, A. (2008). Innovations in Second Life [Video]. http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/10/second-life.html

Rosedale, P. (2008). Second Life [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html.

Second Life Image: Retrieved from http://paulineoliveros.us/images/secondlife_1.jpg

Wallace, M. (2006). Mitch Kapor on the power of second life. Retrieved from http://www.3pointd.com/20060820/mitch-kapor-on-the-power-of-second-life/

Wood, D. (2009). Real life access to “second life” worlds: The potential, the problems and the possibilities for a barrier-free future. The International Journal of Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations, 8(6), 139-148.