Transcript “Second Life” Exploring Virtual Worlds for Social Work Education Dr. Bob Vernon, Indiana GabrielliUniversity Rossini School of Social Work Dr.

“Second Life”
Exploring Virtual Worlds for Social Work Education
Dr. Bob Vernon, Indiana
GabrielliUniversity
Rossini School of Social Work
Dr. Darlene Lynch, Ball
Helene
State
Stransky
University Department of Social Work
Dr. Paul Freddolino, Michigan
Raoul Congrejo
State University School of Social Work
Dr. Lorrie Greenhouse Gardella, St.
Sunny
Joseph
Bamaisin
College
Ms. Susan Tenby, TechSoup.org
Glitteractica Cookie
Contact: http://hsmedia.biz
Web 2.0…
Today…
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Just what IS “Second Life”
You and your “avatar”
Communications in “SL”
Potentials for Social Work Education
Implications and findings so far
How to function in a virtual world
Just what IS “Second Life”
People voluntarily create online virtual worlds...
Travel
Art/museums
Fantasy/role play
Nasties
Shopping
Sports
Theater
Worship
Agencies/Services
You and your “avatar”
You can change your avatar at will…
Control over
Dress
Gender
Age
Race
Ethnicity
Ability
Species!
This is the same avatar!
You and your “avatar”
You can move your avatar at will…
Gestures
You and your “avatar”
You can move your avatar at will…
Gestures
Walking
You and your “avatar”
You can move your avatar at will…
Gestures
Walking
Flying
You and your “avatar”
You can move your avatar at will…
Gestures
Walking
Flying
Teleporting
This becomes easy with practice.
Communications
With individuals, groups, and objects…
Chat/Typing
Communications
With individuals, groups, and objects…
Chat/Typing
IM
Voice
Languages
Meetings
Groups
You can record everything through copying and
pasting text, taking pictures, and making movies…
Potentials for SW Education
Diversity
Potentials for SW Education
Diversity
HBSE
Potentials for SW Education
Diversity
HBSE
Justice and Risk
Potentials for SW Education
Diversity
HBSE
Justice and Risk
Values and Ethics
Potentials for SW Education
Diversity
HBSE
Justice and Risk
Values and Ethics
Research
Potentials for SW Education
Diversity
HBSE
Justice and Risk
Values and Ethics
Research
Policy and Services
Potentials for SW Education
Diversity
HBSE
Justice and Risk
Values and Ethics
Research
Policy and Services
Field and Training
Potentials for SW Education
Diversity
HBSE
Justice and Risk
Values and Ethics
Research
Policy and Services
Field and Training
Practice
There are potentials for all of
the eight EPAS curriculum areas!
Implications so far…
Adaptable to multiple teaching agendas
micro-macro, generalist or concentrations, training, (?) field
Practice diversity
local-global-virtual
Access issues
connection, hardware, ADA
Liability & risk
uncharted territory
The university
local-global-virtual
Functioning in a virtual world
• Remember what the Web was like in 1994?
This is about as challenging!
• Be prepared for a belligerent learning curve
with crummy documentation!
• Cut yourself some slack!
Your students too!
• Get a mentor!
Make friends with librarians, teckies, and gamers!
• Connect in both “SL” and “RL”
peers, listservs, wikis, blogs, youtube!
Potential conversations
• Theoretical concepts
Social and individual identity, neighborhoods, control
• Practice concepts
Professional boundaries, self-awareness, professional use of self
• Research concepts
Participant observation, reflective ethnography
• Degrees of abstraction
The “medical textbook illustration” issue
• Implications for distance education
Many distance education possibilities
Second Life
http://www.secondlife.com