From the College of Higher Education (hat tip: Professor Weinberger):
Colleges worldwide are establishing their presence in Second Life to advertise their programs, conduct online classes or conferences, and do research. At least 170 such campuses can be found there, says an article in the most recent issue of the International Journal of Social Sciences.
But the virtual campuses he has seen, says Mr. Ludlow, lack imagination because they duplicate real institutions.
"Is that what you've got if you could start over, and you're not constrained by the laws of physics, and you could build whatever you want to enhance learning?" he asks. "What kind of message are you sending when you say, 'If I could create the ideal learning environment, I would duplicate Building 7 and go to work?'"....
Mr. Ludlow tried to teach a freshman seminar in Second Life on issues arising in multiplayer online worlds. He and his students were represented by avatars. But it wasn't successful, he says, because avatars don't communicate as richly as people do.
"When I'm teaching in a classroom, I can read the body language of students," says the philosopher. "I can tell if it's too warm. I can tell if they're tired. I can tell if they're looking quizzical because they don't understand. I don't get any of that feedback when I'm trying to address students online."
And here I was looking forward to teaching my courses from home, through an avatar of a giant robot. Read the whole article here.
