A quand l’école virtuelle dans Second Life?

Les campus virtuels vont-ils s’installer dans Second Life? Puisque les élèves passent un temps considérable à chatter et à jouer online, pourquoi ne pas leur offrir la possibilité d’apprendre online? L’environnement le plus adapté semble bien être Second Life, où tout est possible à condition de l’inventer. Des enseignants ont déjà ouvert des classes “en temps réel” sur SL, beaucoup plus efficaces, semble-t-il, que les désormais “antiques” environnements d’e-learning.
Lire à ce propos un article très intéressant, qui cite en passant une forme implicite d’apprentissage éthique dans ce jeu :

It is perhaps because the SL community is characterized by civility that in-world learning has the potential to promote respectful, supportive classroom behavior. According to Jeremy Kemp, “When you have the other person looking at you in the face, it’s kind of hard to be mean, and so it helps to generate an altruistic environment.”

Mais une telle conversion a un prix, encore trop élevé aujourd’hui:

So what does the future hold for education in Second Life? “The crucial problem for educators is finding out if being in this environment, which is very expensive in terms of time and technology, is worthwhile from a learning-outcomes perspective,” says Jeremy Kemp. With the software still rolling out new features each week, it’s tough to get a grip on how this all will shake out. Academics such as Sarah Robbins, whose research can take place almost entirely in these virtual environments, see the movement online as a necessary change.

“Not being familiar with technology puts all academics at somewhat of a disadvantage right now, unless you’re tenured or in a really traditional university,” she says. “So it really behooves academics to understand how to deliver their content online. SL is the bleeding edge of that movement.”

Alors, quel futur?

That’s the SL academic world for you: the most advanced generation of educators on the planet, at home in their pajamas, challenging minds simply by logging on.