Second Life

I would like to first off apologize for posting this entry a little late- things at home and in my student life have been a little hectic lately and my blog got put on the back burner. The next few weeks are looking alot calmer for me (surprisingly since it's the end of term) so I don't expect to be posting this late again. So again, my apologies! I don't like to drag out too long because I know we are starting a new topic tomorrow.

Since I've been a long time gamer (in spite of not having the time or money to play so much in recent years), I was quite eager to get into this topic, especially because all of my years of gaming seemed to create a pretty black-and-white notion that gaming and libraries don't mix (at least in a practical way).  I'm happy to say that this week's readings really got me out of that mindset, though I am still cautious about mixing gaming and libraries.

Gaming and virtual worlds are a great way to bring the library to where the younger generations are spending a lot of their time. Gathering youths together through these two areas forms positive relationships both with the library and between the youths themselves, everyone interacting and having fun together. Gaming and virtual worlds can be very engaging and this increased focus can be harnessed into a positive learning environment.

I've really enjoyed this week, actually. I've been a gamer as long as I can remember, mainly with home consoles (NES, GameBoy Colour, GameCube, DS, and Wii are all systems that I've had in my house at one point or another! Clearly a Nintendo girl!), and a little PC gaming, too. I vividly remember my first exposure to the Sims and the instant addiction I felt!

Van Eck says that studies still have to be conducted as to the effectiveness of gaming for learning. Educators, librarians, and game developers will be more willing to spend resources on DGBL if there is strong concrete evidence that gaming is a strong learning medium. Even so, there is increasing attention being paid to gaming and virtual worlds in educational institutions and libraries. The readings were supportive of game-based learning.

When I first heard of Second Life, I thought it seemed silly, that it was mostly a form of entertainment for computer geeks who create fake personas because they are too awkward for the real world.  However, the readings this week opened my eyes to its advantages, especially in an educational sense.

The Positives:

Well I had a bit of experience with week 11 since it was my group project.  First of all, I created a second life account, Lew Ragu.  I explore this virtual world and found several pros and cons.  I really enjoyed the graphics and found it to be visually stimulating!

I am currently taking the course “Instructional Techniques for Information Professionals” and am finding that one of the most challenging aspects of teaching information literacy is getting students' attention. Adding gaming to instruction would certainly help.

Hi Everyone

 My Second Life avatar name is 'Satine Fiertze'