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The New York Times Technology section is running an article entitled
"A Virtual World but Real Money." The article is about Second Life, a
virtual realm created by Linden Labs in which people can buy and sell
property and other goods and services. There's actually a currence in
Second Life. People can buy Second Life dollars with first world
credit cards. The article states:

But now, the budding fake world is not only attracting a lot more
people, it is taking on a real world twist: big business interests are
intruding on digital utopia. The Second Life online service is fast
becoming a three-dimensional test bed for corporate marketers,
including Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Sun Microsystems,
Nissan, Adidas/Reebok, Toyota and Starwood Hotels.

Our students likely know more about Second Life than we do. When
my friend's eleven year old son recently looked my computer and saw
a shortcut to Second Life, which I've actually only been on once and
don't know how to use very well, he asked me how much property I
own in Second Life. I'm with him a lot. I've never seen him go onto
Second Life but he knows about it.

Read the Article!!

Lesson Ideas:

  • Ask students to cosider how people's behavior changes
    between virtual settings and real world settings. Nearly
    everybody would agree that there are behaviors that are
    inappropriate in a real world setting. Are their behaviors that are
    inappropriate in a virtual setting? You might have students
    develop a code of behavior in virtual settings or write an
    argument explaining why such a code is not necessary. They
    might post these codes on-line.

  • Ask students to explain the most incredible experience that
    they've had playing virtual games on line. Ask them to provide
    as much detail about this experience as possible. Now ask them
    if this experience was a real experience. You might have
    students who have not played many virtual games pair up with
    students who have significant experience with virtual games
    and conduct television interviews with them about these
    experiences. You might vod-cast these interviews.

  • When nations are unsettled people can acquire large portions of
    land. They can take advantage of available natural resources. If
    other people then want to purchase this land or take advantage
    of these resources they have to pay the owners. Consequently
    the first people in a place that later becomes popular have the
    ability to make handsome profits. Ask your students if they can
    think of any situations in which people have become wealthy
    this way. (When the Sears Tower was being built in Chicago
    the person who owned the last building that needed to be
    demolished to build the tower made a fortunate by selling the
    building and land.) Now ask students if they think that this
    scenario is also accurate in a virtual game like Second Life. Do
    they first people who set up property in virtual worlds stand the
    chance to make healthy profits? Why/why not. Encourage
    students to explain their positions thoughtfully.

  • Ask students to design their own virtual worlds or to work in
    groups to design virtual worlds. You might actually set these
    worlds up on Second Life or another virtual environment. You
    could specifically tell the students to set up a world related to
    the content of your course. So for example, if you are teaching
    history have the students set up a community that they are
    studying. If you are teaching physics have the students set up a
    community in which physical laws must be obeyed. If students
    decide not to use physical laws they still have to explain the law
    and develop a thoughtful explanation as to why the law might
    not have to be obeyed.
Second Life
October 19, 2006
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