New Life for Corporate Training - Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments - page 440

Figure 2. NMU human larynx b in Second Life

in which residents can move and interact with
simulated patients, equipment and colleagues,
just as they would in real life. In order to pass the
exercise, the participant must demonstrate a full
understanding of the material, both medical and
professional. For example, before they can inter-
act with simulated patients the learner must wash
their hands. Second Life creates a unique training
environment in which as learners interact and
manipulate their surroundings they are also de-
veloping the skills needed to work in real life.
Creation of training exercises that might oth-
erwise be impossible or too costly to replicate
in real-life is also an area in which Second Life
should be considered for use by corporate train-
ing and development programs. Many companies
work in environments that are highly dangerous
or so extreme in other ways that creating real-life
training for their employees is cost prohibitive.
However, even if you outsource some of your
development work the cost to build such scenarios
in Second Life is a fraction of what it might cost
to put together a highly complex or dangerous
real-life situation.

Play2Train provides training for companies
or institutions that work in the extremely dan-
gerous field of mass trauma. Within Second Life
Play2Train has created a virtual representation
of a town and two hospitals spread over three
islands to support its mission to provide training
for Strategic National Stockpile, Simple Triage
Rapid Transportation, and Risk Communication
and Incident Command System incidents (“ What
is Play2Train ”, 2007). The very nature of these
types of incidents is too costly and extremely
dangerous to replicate in real life. However,
within Second Life, Play2Train can recreate mass
casualty traumas of many types, train participants
from around the world and do so in very realistic,
yet totally safe, immersive environment.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Asso-
ciation (NOAA) provides another example of an
agency taking advantage of Second Life. Spread
out over two islands they have created many dif-
ferent simulations related to weather events and
forecasting that otherwise might prove impossible
to simulate otherwise. In moving throughout ei-
ther island, visitors learn about weather and other
natural phenomenon that impact our oceans and