Subject Matter Content Creation for Second Life Delivery - Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments - page 415

ingstone & Kemp, 2008; Pence 2008). The world
of Second Life is composed of sims (simulations)
of nearly endless variety from historical places,
to art museums, clubs, natural areas, and many
more (Berge, 2008). This variety continues to
grow as the residents of Second Life, including
those involved in education, continue to produce
simulations of chemical molecules, functioning
human systems, medical and research laboratories,
genetics experiments, planets, ballets, psycho-
analysis facilities (Yellowlees & Cook, 2006),
crime scene investigations, and literally thousands
of others (Figure 1).
While the potential is there to teach nearly any
subject in virtual worlds such as Second Life, that
potential is seldom realized (Hargis, 2008). This

is partly due to the time commitment necessary
to produce simulations, partly due to a lack of
preparation to teach in a virtual environment, and
partly due to a lack of understanding of how
content can be converted to in-world experiences.
This chapter provides some necessary first steps
for those instructors interested in using
Second Life and similar environments for
online education. I also discuss what elements
seem most important for such preparation, and
what tools are available for course development
without having to create an entire simulation.
Finally, I provide a few quick examples of how
I have created small learning objects based on
my own subject matter and stress the importance
of teaching the relevant Second Life skills prior

Figure 1. Red Square in Second Life is just one of thousands of well designed and detailed simulations
in which one can immerse one's students