Using Second Life in the Classroom

This year I will be using Second Life in class, to see how well students like it and how it can fit into our English classroom experience. I do have some concerns about using such a program in school, but I think there are many interesting applications that can be employed in the classroom setting and from which I think students will really benefit. I would not be using this as core resource in class, and I will definitely be focusing on other modes of assessment and exploration in the class. I don't want students to get so involved with this game that they loose focus of the goals of the assignment or that other areas of their lives suffer. I do think that Second Life has some resources that will help students find new perspectives and learn about how other live. I would like students to use Second Life for extra credit assignments or as supplementary additions to class presentations and projects. Aspects of Second Life that I found particularly interesting was the Shakespeare world, the Van Gogh painting world, and other such realms that allow students to see things that they might not be able to see in real life or have an adequate experience of in textbooks or museums. Another realm that I found interesting (yet definitely a bit disturbing) was the one where students could experience what it felt like to be schizophrenic. I would encourage students to incorporate these worlds into their projects or research for the purpose of learning perspective and being able to step outside of their own individual realms of experience. I think that if I focus on conveying the importance of realizing other perspectives and different paths of life, then students will really enjoy broadening their frames of reference and looking into these various simulated worlds in order to gain a greater world view.