Second+Life


 * Second Life **


 * A. What are the issues involved with using social networks for professional development in the workplace?**

· Although it’s free to visit, to establish an ongoing base for professional development, an organisation would have to pay for “premium” access (eg QUT Island cost QUT US$3,000 in 2007 – half establishment costs, half an annual maintenaince fee). Staff also need ongoing access to funds so they can to purchase objects in L$, ie administration costs need to be considered as well as the cost of maintaining an island in Second Life.

· Spaces can be private or public

· Not specifically designed as a learning environment

· Use of Second Life involves a substantial investment of time in both construction of the environment (IT specialist skills) and training of participants

· Some new users can suffer from extraneous cognitive load, eg may find it difficult to learn how to navigate around

· Technical challenges, eg need sufficient bandwidth and computational power to use the environment

· Fosters sense of place, presence and community

· <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Learning experiences can resemble real world experiences, eg role play

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Ideal platform for dynamic, active engagement, collaborative projects, knowledge sharing. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">One great advantage of Second Life is that it uses synchronous chat which enables immediate communication with colleagues. Logging tools allow a record of everything that was said in text chat to be kept.

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">


 * B. How do Web 2.0 tools (blogs, wikis, podcasts and video lectures) complement such social networks?**

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Blogs, wikis etc could provide the information archive that Second Life is unable to support at the moment; could provide parallel sharing of skills and knowledge <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Second Life “is not envisaged as the only path open in this changing educational landscape, but offers an engaging, effective vehicle to fulfil specific needs in a cost effective option” (Butler & White, 2008, p.131)

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Second Life is not a knowledge management tool and requires <span style="font-family: 'Cambria Math','serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Cambria Math';">​ <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">the parallel development of tools such as blogs and wikis which store information. It does have the ability to stream media in-world.

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">**C. How is a work-related social network developed and sustained?**

For Second Life to be used successfully for professional development there needs to be a considerable investment in the following:

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Leadership <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Design/construction <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Allocation of roles such as moderator/mediator <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Staff Training <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Technical support <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Evaluation <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

Reference: <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none; textunderline: none;">[|Butler, D] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">. and [|White, J]. (2008). A slice of Second Life : academics, support staff and students navigating a changing landscape.In 'ASCILITE 2008 Melbourne: hello! where are you in the landscape of educational technology? : proceedings : 25th annual ASCILITE conference : November 30 - December 3, 2008' edited by R Atkinson and C McBeath, pages 128-132. Burwood Vic : ASCILITE. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">