Second Life in Education Michelle Zapotoski

Outline of Second Life Presentation: What is Second Life?How Do You Get There?Ways to Use SL in EducationBenefits of SL Educational Locations in SL

What is Second Life? Definition of Second Life Developed by Linden Lab Launched in June, 2003 “Residents” are avatars Second Life Education (2011).

How do you get there? Go to then “join” Brief instructions on how to navigate around You can fly… Make gestures… And change your appearance!

Ways to Use SL in Education: Research: ◦ A 2010 study shows advantage of this environment. ◦ You can review this study for an in-depth overview of the five-stage model.

Benefits of SL: Cost effectiveness ◦ Second Life is free to users. Study: ◦ There are many benefits to using more technology in education.

Educational Locations in SL: The Sistine Chapel: A recreation of Michelangelo's masterpiece. It dates back 500 years. It can be found in SL on Vassar Island. NASA: An island in SL where students can go to explore space shuttles and planetariums. Pharmatopia: An island in SL where students can go to learn about chemistry. They can even wear lab coats and goggles.

Resources: Konstantinidis, A., Thrasyvoulos, T., Theodouli, T., & Andreas, P. (September, 2010). Fostering collaborative learning in Second Life: Metaphors and affordances. Computers & Education, 55 (2), Salmon. G., Nie, M., & Edirisingha, P. (June, 2010). Developing a five-stage model of learning in Second Life. Educational Research, 52 (2), Second Life Education. (2011). Retrieved from Second Life. (2011). Retrieved from Top 20 Educational Locations in Second Life. (2011). Retrieved from ond_Life. ond_Life Wright, T. (2008). Second Life as a Virtual Learning Environment. Retrieved from