BP4_Second Web 2.0 Tool Review

Hey, everybody!

For my second Web 2.0 tool review, I'm going to use a fan favorite - Second Life!

I know we have been using Second Life (SL) since the start of our Full Life journey, and it's been a program that I really want to use when we get back into school.  I think the students would love to see some of the places they see in a textbook come to life "virtually."

Since we have been using SL, there have been a couple of updates that needed downloading.  Here is what the login page looks like now:

With Second Life, I've called it a "Facebook on steroids."  It's a virtual environment where people from all over the world can communicate with each other via the Internet and via virtual environments that have been created by the same users of the program.

In this software, there are many virtual environments you can visit.  There are places that are "real," which means they exist in the real world.  Let me show you an example:

As you can see here, this the virtual environment of Abbottabad in Pakistan.  And if you don't know what that is, this is the compound where Osama Bin Laden was killed by U.S. Special Forces not too long ago (Go U.S.A.!!!).

For what I want to use this program is more on the historical side.  There are also virtual environments that are geared for history.  For example, the Great Wall of China is here in SL:

You could also visit somewhere more "local," like Mount Rushmore:

The program has to be downloaded onto your hard drive.  The other option is to either choose the free or Pro option.  The Pro option has many more options available to the user, but you are charged $9.95 a month for this subscription.

I want to use SL as a way to show, like I had stated, worlds from a more historical perspective.  I would like students to see history a little bit differently, more differently than just what is in textbooks.  I think that students could use this program to "talk" to each other while at the same time explore the different environments that SL has to offer.

So far, I have used SL only here through Full Sail.  I have not had a chance to explore more of the lands in more depth and scope.  I have found the Great Wall of China, Mount Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, and the Presidential Oval Office among other worlds.

Well, that is SL in a nutshell.  Answer back when you get a chance.

Thank you, everyone!