Monday, March 10, 2014

Gamification the not so Second Life, for me...



Over the past two weeks, I have been struggling to learn Second Life, (SL) a gaming platform that has educational, workshop, concerts and lecture components.

SL is virtual world that has virtual places that you can go and have a vacation, virtual amusement parks, zoo and nightlife that one can only imagine... in fact, the only thing that holds a person back in second life is their imagination. One can live on the wild side with creative opportunities of role-play. Be someone else, as you do not have to identify who you are. SL has its own currency called Lindens and a commerce of which you can purchase virtual property, courses, clothing and so forth. Speaking of buying clothes, I now have an Avatar a virtual me who appears nothing like me, when I get tired of what I look like I can change my appearance like Jeckel and Hyde.

Perhaps for someone like my personality, this is a bit of a stretch or it might be that I do not have a mind for this type of learning platform; however, the millennials will be the clients of choice where they can come to class in a virtual learning system. Frankly, I find it difficult to understand this genre, as I am not a gamer; although I consider myself technically well informed and can generally find my way through new programs quite easily.

The challenge I find with SL is its complicated and has quite a steep learning curve if your not being supported by mentors or have a strong tutorial that promotes the ease of learning. SL is however a great social network program for those who are like minded and are prepared to invest in a “Second Life” online virtual friends who aren’t who they say they are or are they?

Second Life does not float my boat, at least in this stage of my life although I am a strong advocate for online learning formal and informal, I just do not understand this gaming platform but am curious to really know the people that do. Just my thoughts… the journey to learn and understand gamification continues...

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

The Not So New World of Learning

Remembering years ago when I was in grade school learning at home from a computer was as good as living your life through a science fiction movie. Today however we are there... learning through the exchange of data seamlessly and invisibly whirling through the air to our wireless devices…. How far the world has come in such a short time.