Our entire group all went on Second Life and had a meeting. We quickly realized the many differences between things that you can do in Second Life as opposed to everyday real life. Traveling was free in Second Life. We were able to go to multiple destinations through teleport. We were able to chat with each other in Second Life. Through computer animation, we could actually carry on a face to face conversation. We could wave and laugh together. Second Life, we feel, is more of a dream world.
Real Life offers alot of of these same things. In real life we can travel, but to only one destination at a time, and it is not free. We need some sort of vehicle in order to commute. Everything in real life is just that "real". If you have a problem with someone in Second Life you can just sign off and be done with it, but if you have a problem in real life, you have to deal with it.
Our group meeting in Second Life was different in many ways than on Blackboard Vista. In Second Life we could see each other by viewing and facing other people's chosen avatars. On Blackboard Vista we cannot look face to face with the other person. Our group liked this feature at first but soon it bacame a little inconvenient and confusing. We kept losing our connections, and would have to stop our meeting to log back in. We discussed how we do not have this type of problem with Blackboard Vista. We could only chat in Blackboard Vista. We cannot show any gestures on Blackboard Vista. Overall we all agreed that we felt the meeting was worse in Second Life mostly because of the lost connections. Right now we all agree that we prefer the simplicity of Blackboard Vista to Second Life.
Virtual worlds like Second Life could possibly be used for on line courses if the problem with the internet connection being lost could be fixed. It could allow us to be able to tour a school or convene in a traditional classroom. This could enhance an online learning experience. We believe that that even though there are face to face conversations in Second Life, they are not as nice as talking to an actual person. Seccond Life does not provide the intimacy that human contact does. While Second Life can allow you to see any museum in the world, it is not the same to us as actually going to that museum and touching the art. We do not feel that any computer site could ever achieve that. Second Life was fun and interesting to see. Our group has decided unanimously that we would rather stick with real life or Blackboard Vista. Mary Ann Reday.
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