I've said it before, and I'll say it again, technology should not be used as a crutch. All supplemental resources should be used as just that, supplements. So, when the idea of using video games and simulations for teaching and learning purposes was a topic for class, I immediately thought of that.
Obviously, slaying zombies and killing people are not the type of video games introduced in the school setting. Games that exercise a student's ability to type, work in a group, use math skills, or to complete a pattern, all to defeat the "Bad Guy" are much more appropriate...on an elementary level.
For secondary students, using simulations, like the Driver's Ed. simulation (video in early post), are great for practicing real world skills, without posing any danger to the actual real world. Let's not forget how important the background information that these simulations and practices need to be based upon to be effective.
Second Life, a program that uses avatars, that represent people in the real world, to interact in the virtual world, is a program that does not fit in either of the aforementioned categories: it is not a computer game strictly for learning, and it is not a simulation course. Second Life works with social skills, and even economic skills. Users can "talk" to one another via avatar, and "sell" different products for real money.
Though Second Life is a worthwhile social device, like any other social program, if people become too dependent upon it, more harm is done than benefit. There have been numerous occasions in which a person cheats on his/her spouse with another Second Life avatar leading to divorce. Care should be taken, as well, to maintain the privacy of one's Second Life. Account hacking, which happens on Facebook and MySpace all too often, is something users need to be very aware of if Second Life really is such a prominent presence in the lives of its users.
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