When I started this art course, I was very leery of Second Life. I have never used anything like this before and I am not very technological savvy. Once I got started, I felt even more overwhelmed, because I did not even know how to change my avatar’s outfit or anything. it took a little practice to get used to using the program, and I am sure that I still have a lot to learn.
One thing I especially appreciate in Second Life is the level of interaction we can have between classmates and out professor. It is nice because we can actually see one another’s avatar and chat together. We can all see what we IM to the whole class, so this allows us to have conversations. Second Life was exceptionally interesting to me last night. We all made artwork and critiqued one another. It was so neat to see everyone’s work in progress and the creativeness between students. Not one person chose the same art to recreate, and not everyone used the same medium. Second Life allowed us to view the original piece of artwork and the one created by our classmate. It was also very helpful to critique one another. I know that I personally gained not only advice on how to make my painting better, but I also gained encouragement from classmates. I was able to learn a lot about art in general, as well as learn what interested my classmates. Second Life is a fun and exciting program that keeps me very engaged throughout class time, and throughout the week.
If you have never tried it before, you should consider it! I think you will be pleasantly surprised!