Hey guys.
I've been having a pretty good time here in the internship and orientation. I noticed at the orientation that the speakers kept mentioning web 2.0, web 2.0, web 2.0, but I didn't here anyone mention networking and learning through virtual worlds. Ok... maybe I should start from the beginning.
A virtual world or environment is a place online where people create a 3D avatar and can interact with others within the world. In most cases the user can create and customize their personal space within the world or environment to their liking.
Places that you can do this in are places like Second Life, There, and many other places as well.
Ok, so maybe most of you knew this already. Sorry.
Last summer, I was on an internship at this company called Associated Computer Systems (ACS) which outsources jobs and projects to other countries. They wanted to create a place within Second Life. So basically they had me do some research on how other companies such as DELL, Geek Squad, and IBM used Second Life (SL) to show off their company.
Now I know we as individuals may not have full companies (aside from AAPD staff of course), however I believe that V-worlds can still be beneficial.
If you think about it, a virtual world such as SL is a lot like a lot of the web 2.0 applications (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, Tagged, etc) but the difference is that in a virtual world (VW), everything is in 3-dimensional space. This can also make things more interesting and interactive as well. Instead of everything on a flat page, it's all in an immersive 3D environment.
It can also be used as a good educational tool as well to show how things work.
Everyday, the world of social networking, communication, and a videogame-lilke environment come closer together. For example, people can now get to Twitter and Facebook through Xbox Live.
I'm sure I could go on for about four more paragraphs, but if you are interested, please feel free to comment and ask questions and I'll be happy to try and answer them for you.
Even if you're not a big fan of video games or aren't good or intimidated by them, I still suggest giving it a try before knocking it. Now I'm not saying you should run out and go join one right away, but chances are if you like the idea of web 2.0 applications, you should enjoy these as well.
I was originally going to put up a video but I can't find it now and plus the subtitle thing that I was going to use WILL NOT install. When I find it you can be sure I will put it up though.
It was talking about how the military use it for training as well as many other businesses using it as well.
Until then, here's a link to a power point I made about them. I hope you can see it. Let me know if you have problems with the link.
http://acslearning.ning.com/forum/topics/2035673:Topic:2284
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