(Many thanks to Erin, our newest EduGeek, for sending this to me!) MIT’s Technology Review posted this week a really interesting article discussing the inevitable merge of social virtual worlds (i.e. Second Life, There) with mirror worlds (i.e. Google Earth, Microsoft’s Virtual Earth).
Great detail is given on what’s currently being done in these two areas of the metaverse. As you know, I (and my fellow EduGeeks) are currently enamored with Second Life and virtual worlds in general, so much of the information presented on that platform was not too new. (However, if you’re new to SL, this article has lots of great info and SLURLS to specific locations in-world, which is incredibly handy.)
I must admit after reading the article that I’m neglecting to pay any attention to mirror worlds, and specifically Google Earth. I was incredibly interested in hearing about what’s already being done with these types of quasi-3D-mapping resources. The ability to create and view user-generated content added as layers on top of these virtual maps is ripe with educational opportunities. Great article!
The World Wide Web will soon be absorbed into the World Wide Sim: an environment combining elements of Second Life and Google Earth.
[read entire article]
Howdy folks! I’m an Instructional Designer at UT Dallas. I have a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Angelo State University and a Master’s in Computer Education and Cognitive Systems from the University of North Texas. I’ve been working in edtech for 11 years. Hmm… what else? I’m a *huge* fan of that little Irish band called U2, and I’m a bigtime Firefly/Serenity advocate.