Second Life in a Secondary Biology Classroom

Second Life in a Secondary Biology Classroom

Abstract

The role of web-based and internet technologies is increasing day by day. Every industry is adopting the new ways of web-based technologies and employing it in the order to enhance and develop the business. Just like the other sectors, the educational sector is also paying much emphasis on the development and enhancement of second life. In this era of technology innovation, it is the responsibility of the teacher to identify new and modern internet-based tools and services in order to enhance the learning abilities of the students. The main purpose of this paper is to make an analysis on the importance of second life and other multi-user virtual environment for supporting the teaching and learning in high school biology classrooms.

Introduction

The use of the multi-user virtual environment is increasing since the past few years. The main purpose of the multi-user virtual environment is to facilitate people with the graphical spaces for social interactions. This technology has gained the attractions of number of people in order to enhance their learning. Second life is also an example of the multi-user virtual environment (MUVE).

The technology of second life has gained a huge exposure since the last few years. According to the researchers conducted by Gartner Group (2007), by the end of the 2011, the 80% of the internet users will have the virtual presence in the form of “avatar”. This trend is being followed by the academics too (Bell, 2008). The academics are using the trend of MUVE as a platform which is used to enhance to learning process. The technology of distance learning is being adopted by a number of the educational institutes all over the world, which had shown the profound effects on the educational industry. The shift in the educational strategies can be experienced as a result of the adoption of the latest and technological innovations for the learning and educating. In this era, students feel more comfortable and they can easily learn by moving towards the educational technologies (Fusar, 2008). The interest of students towards 3D virtual settings is increasing day by day with the passage of time; therefore, the online and hybrid courses have also been evolved in a great number. There are thousands of universities and the educational institutes which have established the infrastructure in order to conduct classes through second life, in order to enhance the effectiveness of the educational standards.

The technology of second life has been created by Linden Labs which is a company based in San Francisco. The technology of second life is an internet based three-dimensional virtual world technology. The technology of second life has been originated in 2003, and within the past few years this technology has experienced an entry of millions of people. Now the number of the registered accountants is 16 million approx. There are also other virtual environments which are similar to the environment of second life i.e. Active Worlds, Twinity and ...