Getting ready for our second SL session this evening. I thoroughly enjoyed Monday’s class in SL. Interesting, engaging and different are my first impressions of class in SL. I’m still trying to get my hands ar0und interacting with “real” people in a “virtual” world tasked with doing “real” things together virtually. The one thing that stood out for me during our activity in SL was the fact that talking was a bit awkward. Not too sure about the social aspect in SL. In face-to-face interactions, it’s rude to ask a couple of questions and just turn and walk away; in SL it isn’t. Or was I just being rude. Plus, still trying to get used to personal space in SL. Don’t want to be known as a close talker – or IMer in some cases.
One thing that is definitely different between class in SL and class in Elluminate – class in SL is more engaging to me. I guess it’s because of the multi-sensory stimuli which simulates “real” life. Okay, I need to find a good term for the “real world” versus the “virtual SL world.” For now, I’ll simply refer to my life outside of SL as the “real” world and life in SL as the “virtual” world.
As one of this week’s reading mentioned, the one difference between learning in a virtual world and with multimedia programs is that you interact within the environment with less boundaries in a virtual world. I like that. I’m interested to see how comfortable I am at the end of the class with regards to learning in a virtual world. Right now, I love the potential that SL offers in the way of learning, but am still undecided on how effective this type of environment is for learning. Looking forward to the weeks ahead.