Study Abroad Through Second Life
Wouldn’t you like to take a virtual tour of the study abroad university that you plan to attend to decide if it is the right fit for you?
Apparently now you can thanks to the makers of Second Life, which is a 3-D virtual world that users create themselves.
It seems that colleges are incorporating the Second Life program into their study abroad curriculums to connect students with other locations around the world.
One such example comes from Dubai Women’s College, who used a Second-Life recreation of Darfur to make an online pilgrimage to Mecca.
They also met regularly with a group of Korean students to help them with their English language skills and to teach them about American culture.
Nicole Shammas, an English language teacher at Dubai Women’s College, says that the biggest advantage to using Second Life is the ability for students to teach each other about their cultural differences. That way they can prepare each other for what they will encounter when they come to their host country.
The U.S. State Department has already used Second Life to present an 8-hour concert across the world, and they are planning to work with Ohio University to plan a virtual art exhibit.
You can read the entire article here.
