virtualworlds_2

=Virtual Worlds= E.g., Second Life, Google Lively

How applicable across settings? topics? purposes? Audiences?
I think Lively would be easier to use quickly, the uptake is faster, I was up and running just now in minutes.

Best when…Because…
You want to provide an experiential learning opportunity.

Not so great when…Because…
It can be a vaguely creepy experience! When you have a group or island to belong to this can help, but it can be a strange experience.

Would this work in your setting? Would people in your organization be receptive? Why, why not?
In my particular setting, both SL and Lively wouldn't be likely to be used, bandwidth in third world countries is so tough anyway. Also, we could be stepping on all sorts of "cultural toes". Avatars could easily be offensive. Also our work involves life and death and this could be perceived poorly because of the "gamey" nature of these applications. That said, we've talked about creating a CRS virtual world where we work with students in the US to educate on how we work overseas etc. (you can choose to keep your organization anonymous here, but mention the setting in general).

Resources to get you started
The entire [|issue of EDUCAUSE this month] is devoted to this very topic. The **New Media Consortium (NMC)** is an international 501(c)3 not-for-profit consortium of nearly 300 learning-focused organizations dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies. [|NMC member institutions] are found in almost every state in the United States, across Canada, and in Europe, Asia and Australia. Among the membership are an elite list of the most highly regarded colleges and universities in the world, as well as a growing list of innovative museums, research centers, foundations, and forward-thinking companies. SDSU is a member, through the piCT program. [ During [|the Friday night live session from the NMC Summer Conference] in and into the NMC Campus, our guests from Electric Sheep Company opened with a newly produced fine minute video //**NMC Campus: Seriously Engaging**//. This piece nicely provides an overview of Second Life, how people are building a new way of real work and interaction there, and concluding with an overview of the NMC Campus.