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The team at ISTE.org have convinced me that Second Life is a great venue for short "face"-to-"face" professional meetings when you can't travel to meet face-to-face. But lately I've been asking myself, "When is SL better than a classroom for students?" One answer seems to be "immersive simulations" that can't (or shouldn't!) be done in real life. Here's an example...

Using technology to duplicate what can be done without technology may be novel, but I'm losing patience with this view of ed-tech. HP grant recipients that are combining the best instructional approaches with the right technologies to create NEW types of powerful learning experiences are having far more success in showing measurable improvements in student academic outcomes. So what are the implications for the instructional use of Second Life? For me, this means using SL for learning activities that go beyond what you're already able to do. An obvious example is using SL to facilitate meeting "face"-to-"face" with other students or experts, even though you are unable to meet in person.

But I'm looking for examples of powerful learning experiences, not just "Hi, nice avatar you've got there..."

This brings me to a discussion I had with Dr. Liz Falconer at the University of the West of England. Dr. Falconer is the manager of their e-Learning Development Unit, which works with colleagues across the university to help with developments in curricula and delivery that use ICT. UWE is also the recipient of a 2007 HP Technology for Teaching grant. One area of research is Simulations in Higher Education, many of which are conducted in Second Life.

Dr. Falconer was kind enough to show me one of their latest simulations, designed to support the learning of students enrolled in a course focused on occupational hazards. These students need to learn how to evaluate work-place industrial accidents. Unfortunately, many graduates did not encounter real accidents until AFTER they graduated - at which point they met the daunting challenge of dealing with the uncertainties of real (and often tragic) life circumstances.

To better prepare these students, Dr. Falconer and her team worked with Second Life designers at Citrus Virtual to create a simulator engine that has been used to create a realistic warehouse accident.

Students press go, and watch bad things happen - just like in real-life. But unlike real-life, you can press rewind and watch it again, perhaps from a different angle, or after a debrief with your instructor and classmates. What was the root cause? What can be done to prevent accidents like this? What would you do if you were sent in to investigate such an accident? With simulations like this, suddenly these questions don't seem so academic.

This is definitely an experience that you cannot (and should not) replicate in real-life. If you would like to visit "e-Learning at UWE" (their Second Life Island), visit http://www.uwe.ac.uk/elearning/projects/projectSecondlife.shtml for more information.

Nice job, UWE!

Jim Vanides, B.S.M.E, M.Ed.
Worldwide Education Programs
HP Global Social Investment
Hewlett-Packard
Twitter @jgvanides

For information about the HP Global Social Investments, visit www.hp.com/hpinfo/grants