My Second Life
Sheila Webber, Sheffield University (see also my avatar's blog at http://adventuresofyoshikawa.blogspot.com/ )
Context/situation/challenge
Learning to be Sheila Yoshikawa ("born" May 2007) in Second Life, the virtual world where the content is created by the SL "residents": learning to become a learner, a landscape gardener, a builder, an interior decorator, a shopkeeper, a fashionista, a teacher (of a required element in my first year class, plus of others in less formal ways), an events organiser....
What were the particular characteristics of the situation that engaged you in an immersive way?
It's a virtual world...
What forms of learning / personal development / change emerged from the situation?
Learning by observing, experiencing, listening, participating, searching for information, asking. I started by wandering around in the clothes I arrived with, then I got an office on someone else's island (for our new Centre for Information Literacy Research), then bought my own land (and sold some), then took delivery of our own island which I prepared for the students, to carry out their activity last semester. I attended conferences and discussions, and then organised my own discussion series in the office and now on the island. I spent a lot of time shopping and opened my own shop. I found I was devoting rather a lot of time to living in Second Life ...
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What words/concepts/feelings would you use to describe the immersive experience?
What principles or lessons can be drawn from this story?
One person's immersive experience is another person's piece of coursework to be completed: learners need to know why they are there.
Technical barriers can be significant and can make the experience less immersive.
Immersive experiences can be powerful, you need to be alert to possible strong reactions, negative and positive.
Different people will be attracted/inspired by different facets of the experience.
All photos copyright Sheila Webber, 2007
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