Virtually Speaking........

I spent an evening with a group of friends discussing virtual worlds. We specifically talked about an eighteen-year-old high school graduate who is hooked on Second Life. In Second Life, one can create an avatar, explore, meet people, and can buy property to build a house or start a business. Apparently, people who start businesses in this virtual world are making real money, not virtual money. I found this interesting so I did a search online for virtual worlds. I didn’t realize there were so many of them: Weblo, 3b, There, and IMVU just to name a few. It makes me wonder how this will affect the educational community. Will teachers see these as teaching tools or annoyances? Will shy students become more confident? I guess only “virtual” time will tell.