Who Would You Be If You Had A Second Life?

Let me begin by saying that Second Life is stressful! The first time that I experimented with it I got extremely frustrated for three reasons:

1) My browser was sticking

2) I'm too much of a perfectionist

3) I wanted to be good at it right away

I spent almost an hour trying to get my outfit just right the first time I signed on to Second Life, which was a mistake. I was getting upset because I couldn't get myself to look how I wanted. On top of that my browser was STICKING!!! UGHH! The browser speed was what made me log off and not turn back to it until I absolutely had to. Lastly, I have a love/hate relationship with learning. I love learning new things, but not if they take me ages and ages to master. Second Life is going to take me ages and ages. It's a very complex program. I do think, though, if I do get the basics mastered that it could be really fun.

When Dr. Z gave us the opportunity to go sit with him while meeting in Second Life I knew I had to. I had to because I didn't understand it. I didn't really know how to teleport from place to place. My browser wasn't running very well, and I didn't get the overall purpose of Second Life. I must admit that after meeting in Second Life while physically being with someone who understood it, I kind of liked it. I wasn't getting frustrated anymore, and I was starting to look at it a little differently. The idea of holding a meeting with my classmates in a virtual world is kind of exciting. We met in Dr. Z's room, which had a table and if we wanted we could have all sat down and talked with each other. That is one of the coolest things I have ever heard of. A meeting without actually meeting. 

I could see myself using Second Life in the future to meet with other educators across the world for collaboration. Even though I'm not totally sure how to run it just yet I do believe that it is pretty user friendly. It's just one of those things that takes time to learn, but I think I am up for the challenge! Second Life offers a lot more than just being a game. It's a place for learning and collaboration to take place; it can either be used for personal use or professional use. While Second Life and I aren't totally on stable grounds quite yet I believe that one day it will happen. I still don't understand most of the basics, but at least I understand what Second Life is about, which is a step in the right direction. I would encourage everyone to try Second Life out. There's nothing lost in trying it.