Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
scripting, on the other hand, is harder to pick up.
Second Life has its own scripting language, Linden
Scripting Language (LSL), which is similar to C.
Scripting allows you to create interaction between
residents and environmental objects. For example,
scripts allow for simple things like doors to open
and close, lights to go on and off or handing out
note cards to residents that pass within a specific
proximity to the object. But scripts also create
much more advance interactions such as, vehicles
moving under resident control, loading videos to
viewer screens, allowing for conversation like
interactions with inanimate objects, moving in
certain directions or maintaining a certain pose
when sitting on a chair. Scripts allow for advanced
interactions to be developed in-world and help
heighten the immersion experience.
Combining building objects with highly de-
tailed scripting creates a very powerful environ-
ment. Add this to a virtual environment in which
just about anything you can imagine can be built
and an immersive learning environment begins to
form. However, by coupling these two principles
and adding the socialization and collaborative
communication tools Second Life has to offer
and the situation is transformed dramatically into
a learning tool capable of developing educational
materials in ways not previously seen.
tated events) is also well suited for development
within Second Life. However, it can and should
be considered as an e-learning development tool.
Examining the larger issue of e-learning we
know corporate training and development pro-
grams see the value of such programs. One study
examining the use of e-learning within corporate
training programs found that 73% of respondents
indicated they use e-learning and of that 84% of
the e-learning was delivered via the web (New-
ton & Doonga, 2007). While they did not study
the use of MUVEs, or Second Life specifically,
the findings indicate that corporate training and
educational programs are open to e-learning as a
delivery mechanism.
As such, it would stand to reason that as a
community of practitioners, both academia and
corporate training and development professionals
would take advantage of this resource with equal
enthusiasm. However, that is not the case. Recent
studies have shown that while the academic com-
munity is vigorously using Second Life for both
research and coursework, their corporate brothers
and sisters are not. Over the last few years, educa-
tors working in academia have focused time and
effort in building educational programs within
Second Life. As stated previously, in 2007 over
1200 educational themes islands were created in
Second Life (Johnson, 2008). This means that
those 1200 islands have some specific educational
focus to someone working at a qualifying educa-
tional institution, verified at the time of purchase
by Linden Lab confirming that the buyers email
address ended in “.edu.” However, the exact
number of institutions working within Second
Life is harder to determine.
Second Life Usage
Second Life can also be considered an e-learning
tool. Newton and Doonga (2007) define e-learning
as, self-study materials developed by software
tools for computer based instructions. Indeed,
Second Life can be included in this category be-
cause as a software tool, instructional designers
can create materials that are meant for self-study
and that remain available to anyone who happens
upon them in Second Life. That is not to say
Second Life is relegated to self-study materials,
the exact opposite is true. Because of its unique
nature instruction involving interaction, role play
and collaboration (e.g., instructor-led or facili-
Academia in Second Life
In reviewing the literature, the ongoing use of
Second Life in education and other instructional
environments is often estimated but never de-
finitively answered. Nancy Jennings and Chris
Collins, from the University of Cincinnati, con-
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