John Lester (Pathfinder Linden!):
– introduction to second life
– fundamentally not a game
– asked “is the web a game?” There are games on the web… SL is the same
– online augments face-to-face just like the phone augments – doesn’t replace
– median age 35
– goal – host your own SL grid (they went open source in January 2007)
– emotional bandwidth – constantly want to connect with people (emoticons vs avatars with facial expressions)
– over 200 universities represented – doing experiential learning
– creating immersive experiences
– imagine learning about ancient egypt, in a replica of ancient egypt
– real vs virtual worlds… are people you talk to real? Cell phone? What’s the difference?
– don’t get mired in past frameworks – ie., movies are not plays