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 * Proposal submission #21996**

Digital Dynamics: Culture and Technology in Second Life Education
 * Title**

Scott Powell, Portland State University, Milwaukie, Oregon, USA, sendao@gmail.com
 * Presenter(s)**

How do students learn in a virtual world? What kind of experiences can be conveyed, and why might you want to teach in Second Life (SL)? We will discuss the possibilities and challenges in the digital classroom, including social and technical issues, lesson formats, and open source tools.
 * Description**

These possibilities are based on my personal experience as a student, a gamer, and a programmer in Second Life.

Possible teaching methods in SL include - Re-enact scenes from history or plays from literature/drama - Teach introductory CS using LSL as the language - Utilize the advanced simulation space to teach physics & engineering - Explore the socio-cultural frontier.

Anything is possible in Second Life. Resources are available from across the globe, and the virtual world is only getting bigger as the real world comes together. I see this as a fascinating time in the evolution of man - a worldwide step into consensual mass hallucination.

Some cultural issues that occur in SL are - Some of what you get is newbies who don't know up from down - the rest have been living half-anonymous lives!

The difference between a novice and an expert has never been so readily seen as in Second Life. I will make some humble suggestions that teachers let the experts introduce the novices, and that the teachers provide some basic tools to all of their students so they feel prepared.

Going out in the world - Be security conscious - Be content conscious

There are plenty of people who wish to cause random discord under the name Anonymous. Lots of other people wish to have a great time in their own peculiar way. Fortunately there are simple pure-defense tools that can make random discord stay away, and areas are flagged 'PG' or 'Mature' - keep these ideas in mind when you go out to explore!

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 * Notes & Comments**