According to Thornburg (2009), Disruptive technology is a new technology with the same functionality as the existing technology but it functions more efficiently and then obsoletes that technology. Second Life is a disruptive technology because we are living in a networked world and this technology allows people to "make-believe" connect even though they are far apart. Young people love it so, according to an article in University World News, many of the universities and colleges are purchasing SL properties and hiring programmers to establish presences on Second Life to attract these young people. According to Nuthall (2008), there is quite a bit of money to be made in Second Life. In fact, "Last year alone, the GDP of the Second Life world was upwards of US$65 million." No one wants to be left out in the cold when money is involved, so business and universities want to get in on this market. Second Life is about replacing the physical teaching setting with a virtual world.
Thornburg (2009) explained disruptive technologies as completely new tools that change how things are done, and are not gradual extensions of older technologies. I work in K-12 education and have been to a few workshops on a Second Life Package that our district was hoping to adopt and use. It was very expensive, and extremely time-consuming up front, however when we did develop a science lesson, the students and teachers loved it and were completely motivated to engage in the learning. Second Life can be expensive and with all of the Web 2.0 and 3.0 technologies comes OpenSim, which stands for OpenSimulator and is free to most users. This technology is not only engaging and motivating, but it provides a platform for students to develop their technological, cognitive, linguistic, artistic, and social skills.
References
Korolov, M. (2012, April 16). Hypergrid Business:Georgia School Grid to Triple Land Area. Cumming, GA, USA. Retrieved from Geo.
Nuthall, K. (2008, January 20). A Disruptive Technology Arrives. University World News .
Thornburg, D. (2009). Disruptive Technologies. DVD . Laureate Education, Inc.
Hello Karen,
ReplyDeleteI think Second Life is an awesome connection with the virtual world. Things are done in different ways because people have to use their imagination. Understanding the Second Life helps people to transfer themselves into the scenes and make connections. This far exceeds 3D concepts.
When I think of Second Life, I imagine the "Sims" or "World of Warcraft" games. Out of experience with my own children, the virtual world is attractive because it's not threatening. You don't' have to worry about how someone will respond or if they will like what you say.
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda,
DeleteI did compare Second Life to the Sims and World of Warcraft as well. However, I do not have to babysit my characters in Second Life when compared to the Sims. I do not have to go out on kill missions or perform mindless mining/crafting activities like World of Warcraft. Second Life enables the user to create and sell anything, unlike World of Warcraft that is specific to tools used in battle. Also, Second Life enables the user to create their character from scratch. The Sims and World of Warcraft allow some flexibility in creating characters, but it is not as detailed as Second Life.
Sanjay Sharma
Hi Karen,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you mentioned the cost of being involved with Second Life. I thought it was rather expensive to purchase land, which is a method Second Life uses to generate money to pay for its servers and employees. I do see the benefit of using virtual environments, but the costs are prohibitive for my school district. I think my school system will hold out until a cheaper (i.e. free) system is stable enough for use. One area where the virtual world has not tapped into is in-world advertising. I would not mind seeing Coke advertisements if that meant free use. Otherwise, Second Life is too costly for me to stay involved.
Sanjay Sharma
The cost of Second Life is one thing that seems to be causing them to lose some of their users/followers. The purchasing of land seemed rather expensive. The one site I found called Kitely discussed the cost of Second Life. Kitely does not run constantly, but only when someone is in a room/world.
ReplyDeleteI like Sanjay's idea of companies using advertisements on the site. They could pay the same as they would for a commercial or product placement on a television show. This would bring down the cost to the users and provide advertisement for the companies.