Student Users' Perceptions of Second Life as an Educational Tool

Abstract

Second Life (SL) is gaining popularity in an educational context. Based on the need for educators to understand emerging technologies and their potential for use in the classroom, this study explored student users’ perceptions of the use of SL in an educational setting. Student’s enrolled in a traditional classroom, that had a SL component merged into the curriculum, were surveyed to determine their perceptions on the use of SL in education. A modified version of Li and Bernoff’s (2008) Social Technographic® Ladder was used to classify students based on their use of technology. Findings indicated that while students did not perceive the value of the use of SL as it was used in the traditional classroom, they agreed on its potential for use in education, predominantly in a virtual classroom setting. Students agreed on the potential of SL for collaboration, simulations, team building, and interaction with peers, among other things. A key implication of this study is that educators need to utilize SL to move outside the walls of the classroom and offer opportunities not afforded in the traditional classroom setting, rather than simply replicating the traditional classroom in a virtual format.