In Lieu of Lunch

   Another interesting comment came about from our first Second Life class meeting.

My son (17) showed an interest in the “game” world, how do you keep students out of areas they should not be in? As it was we had non-students showing up [during the meeting] . . . how do you keep your students from meeting people not associated with the class? There’s a distraction you don’t see in a normal environment. Are there parental controls on SnL?

As for keeping young folks out of the game worlds, that’s an issue. There is a Teen Grid though. As educators, we can subject ourselves to a security check for $40 US and gain access to work on K-12 projects. Warning: all your avatar info (and inventory) moves to the Teen Grid and you cannot return to the main grid. So it is best, if you are going to work on the teen level, to create an additional account and avatar.

As for gaming - there are also other things like orgies and high stakes gambling at some of the mature islands. It isn’t all educational, that’s for sure. Teen grid is a response to that. Actually, I am passionately against gambling for money but not for any moral or religious reasons. I find it an enormous waste of time and mental energy. I also find that most people entering into the lure of easy money are about to have their wallets lightened a little.

As for students entering the area in error, some of these were valid intrusions by well meaning mentors or room owners. It is possible to teleport to sections of buildings accessible only by teleportation within the island itself. That might be a solution to intrusions.