1. Collaborative and Experiential Learning in the User-Created Virtual World of Second Life Ali Andrews (AKA, Aline Click in RL) Northern Illinois University
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13. Community of Gamers/Learners “ Gamers come to virtual worlds because in them they find more than a game, they find other gamers. They come to compete with each other, to collaborate with each other, to learn from each other, to profit from each other, to talk to each other in the game, at the coffee machine at work or in chat rooms on the Internet.” Ludlow, P. and Wallace, M. (2006). Only A Game: Online Worlds and the Virtual Journalist Who Knew Too Much. to be published by O'Reilly Press. http://www.slconvention.org/ludlowwallace_chapter.pdf
As an instructional designer who has spent the last 8 years developing online education I have looked for ways to provide better communication between students. While the materials we develop are high quality multimedia, full of beautiful illustrations, animation, interactivity and often cutting edge, the online environment is still missing something for most students. It is a lonely place. Then 2 years ago at this conference I saw a presentation on SL.