Last week's class was my first introduction to Second Life, and I have to say that I'm a little creeped out by it. But it's also something that doesn't really do much for me. Maybe because I do so much at the computer already, having a make believe world rather than actual human interaction isn't something I feel a need for. But maybe it will grow on me - who knows?
I found an interesting article in a recent edition of School Library Journal about Teen Second Life ("Meet the New You"
By Kelly Czarnecki and Matt Gullett -- 1/1/2007). Apparently there's a teen version of Second Life, and at least some libraries are working towards using the space to reach out to teens. A public library in East Peoria teamed up with one in Charlotte, NC to produce an island inside of the teen grid called Eye4You Alliance. It went live in October, 2006.
You can check it out at http://www.eye4youalliance.youthtech.info/
Another library in New York is doing something similar, and trying to make connections to local school curriculum, for instance, one class is making a virtual Ellis Island for their social studies class. Seems like there might be some exciting ways to reach students through things like this, so I will keep an open mind.
The article is available at
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6403251.html
