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December 02, 2008
Virtual Words and Education
Bill Thompson's column at the BBC had an interesting article this past week about the uses of different virtual environments for educational purposes. Specifically, he compares the combat-centered World of Warcraft and the social Second Life. Surprisingly, a presenter at a conference he attended came to the conclusion that WOW produced a better sense of self-identification with the player-made character than did Second Life.
Of course, I can't imagine how WOW could be harnessed for educational means. Second Life is already being used by a variety of educational groups, including librarians. As social networking sites and software come into maturity, educational institutions need to give some serious thought into harnessing the power of Web 2.0. "Game," as Thompson notes, is a monumentally dismissive word for the varieties of virtual worlds that many young patrons are quite fluent at interacting with. There is no harm in aggressively marketing to patrons in locations, virtual or otherwise, they are likely to visit.
~Ross G.
Posted by colldev at December 2, 2008 07:33 PM