Abstract :
This paper highlights the potential of three-dimensional multi-user environments
such as Second Life (SL) from the perspective of future developments in
the service of learning. It notes trends within the SL innovation to date, including
the provision of realistic settings, the exploitation of pleasant simulated
environments for groups and the links with other learning technologies. It also
considers the creativity sparked by SL’s potential to offer the illusion of 3-D
‘spaces’ and buildings, and points to infinite imaginative educational possibilities.
It explores aspects of the construction of virtual representations of learners
and teachers as avatars, and reveals a wide range of intriguing issues yet to
be researched.
