“Second Life” Exploring Virtual Worlds for Social Work Education“Second Life” Exploring Virtual Worlds for Social Work Education

Dr. Bob Vernon, Indiana University School of Social Work

Dr. Darlene Lynch, Ball State University Department of Social Work

Dr. Paul Freddolino, Michigan State University School of Social Work

Dr. Lorrie Greenhouse Gardella, St. Joseph College

Ms. Susan Tenby, TechSoup.org

Contact: http://hsmedia.biz

“Second Life” Exploring Virtual Worlds for Social Work Education

Dr. Bob Vernon, Gabrielli Rossini

Dr. Darlene Lynch, Helene Stransky

Dr. Paul Freddolino, Raoul Congrejo

Dr. Lorrie Greenhouse Gardella, Sunny Bamaisin

Ms. Susan Tenby, Glitteractica Cookie

Contact: http://hsmedia.biz

Web 2.0…

Today…• 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...

TravelArt/museumsFantasy/role play

SportsTheater

Shopping

WorshipAgencies/Services

Nasties

You and your “avatar”You can change your avatar at will…

This is the same avatar!

Control over Dress Gender Age Race Ethnicity Ability Species!

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…

This becomes easy with practice.

Gestures

Walking

Flying

Teleporting

CommunicationsWith individuals, groups, and objects…

Chat/Typing

CommunicationsWith individuals, groups, and objects…

Chat/Typing

IM Voice

Languages

Groups

Meetings

You can record everything through copying and pasting text, taking pictures, and making movies…

Potentials for SW Education

Diversity

Potentials for SW Education

DiversityDiversityHBSE

Potentials for SW Education

DiversityHBSEJustice and Risk

Potentials for SW Education

DiversityHBSEJustice and RiskValues and Ethics

Potentials for SW Education

DiversityHBSEJustice and RiskValues and EthicsResearch

Potentials for SW Education

DiversityHBSEJustice and RiskValues and Ethics

Policy and Services

Research

Potentials for SW Education

DiversityHBSEJustice and RiskValues and Ethics

Policy and Services

Research

Field and Training

Potentials for SW Education

DiversityHBSEJustice and RiskValues and Ethics

Policy and Services

Research

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 diversitylocal-global-virtual

Access issuesconnection, hardware, ADA

Liability & riskuncharted territory

The universitylocal-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 Lifehttp://www.secondlife.com