This is a great article about how Purdue chose to embrace social networking within Second Life to assist students not only with connecting but also with learning.
“The Purdue Island was founded by the Purdue Professional Writing lab and Purdue Libraries” and is currently being used to support professional writing and business classes. Second Life has enabled students to put their business theories to the test in a “real” virtual environment. According to the article, the experience was met with mixed feelings by students, but has proven to be an exciting experiment.
Second Life has also been used for distance learning for students who may not see each other in real life, but can at least meet up in the virtual world.
Written by: Beth J. Bates