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More on Pancakes – One bite at a time in Second Life
by Jim Vanides

After reading Elizabeth Helfant’s blog about the Pancake Principle, I find myself reflecting on my recent experience in Second Life – and strangely hungry for more syrup...

I continue to be impressed by the educators I’ve been meeting who are willing to jump in and try something new. As Elizabeth points out (my paraphrase), it’s better to start making pancakes and tweaking the recipe as you go, than waiting until another generation of students graduates without ANY of the benefits that technology can bring to their academic success.

The pancakes I’ve got sizzling (burning?) are in Second Life. Admittedly, I don’t have it all figured out and it’s not perfect for what I’d *like* to do, but the kitchen is smelling pretty good (Elizabeth – I hope I’m not abusing your metaphor!). Here’s what I’m learning so far:

• Don’t use Second Life if your First Life will do

• DO use Second Life if it allows you to do something you could not (or could not easily) do in your First Life

   

I recently participated in a “Celebration of Environmental Education” hosted in Second Life by the International Society for Technology in Education. We had a great time visiting posters presented by educators from K12 and High-Ed. It was very much like a face-to-face meeting, but it entirely eliminated the travel cost, environmental impact, and personal wear-and-tear. Those present would simply NOT have met one another otherwise.

It wasn’t perfect, though. Our friends at Linden Labs have a ways to go before the audio works in a way that supports larger group gatherings. For starters, their algorithm for sound intensity needs to more closely follow the r-squared drop-off physics of real life. As it stands, you can hear people who appear to be very far away, causing bleed between conversations. Adding some “sound proof materials” would also help us build spaces for quiet conversations. But, I have every confidence that Linden Labs will build that pancake soon.

Subsequently, I visited a simulation project in Second Life (I’ll blog more about that later). It was designed by the University of the West of England to experience and analyze industrial accidents. This type of experience is essentially impossible (if not unethical) to create in real life. Second Life also provides a way to replay the simulation over and over – which is utterly impossible in real life.

This has prompted me to start a list of “learning experiences you can create in Second Life that you can’t (or shouldn’t) create in real-life”. If you have any pancake recipes for these types of experiences, please do post a comment or send me a note. When I get a nice collection of these, I’ll share them in a future posting.

The careful attention to the unique-ness of Second Life is to me key to the “syrup” that makes the meal worth eathing. I’m looking forward to the next batch of Second Life pancakes – with plenty of real maple syrup, please!