SLOODLE: Second Life Gets Some Class by Chris Surridge

The 3D Virtual Environment of Second Life already has a rich educational heritage. A large number of internationally known universities have a presence in Second Life. San Jose State University’s Graduate School of Library Information Science augments its distance learning program with a complete virtual campus in Second Life. Software giants Microsoft and Adobe have entire islands dedicated to in-world training, while entrepreneurs provide an endless list of classes, such as java programming, origami, and language learning.

Indeed, Second Life’s user-created content model basically means that anything that can be imagined can be realized. This open-ended environment has also been a bit of an impediment for educators who seek to use Second Life for education: where does one begin? In terms of language education, Second Life offers obvious possibilities. Its multi-user environment enables people from different parts of the world to meet in the physical space of Second Life. Text and voice chat capabilities also mean that complex synchronous communication is a standard capability. Based on these functions, innovative educators have built in-world language schools where users can meet, exchange information, discuss, argue, build and collaborate.

With its lush 3D interface and realistic avatars, Second Life provides an attractive place for language education. However, just as in real-world schools, there is a lot more to language education than assembling people and leading a discussion. This is where the genius of SLOODLE comes in. SLOODLE, an acronym for Simulation Linked Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment, provides a way to bridge many of the functions of the popular Moodle LMS with Second Life (and Open Simulator). Using SLOODLE tools, educators can enroll students in courses, share slides, videos and web pages, record chat conversations, distribute course material, deploy quizzes, and even link in-world interactions to the Moodle gradebook all within virtual space. As a result, educators are able to structure complex learning interaction in Second Life that can be organized and tracked within Moodle.

The SLOODLE toolset seems to grow each week, powered by a core group of developers as well as an active user community. The core tools have been supplemented by some groundbreaking innovations, many of them helped along by developer Paul Preibisch (Fire Centaur in Second Life). In particular, the SLOODLE Awards system which Preibisch has helped to develop links the Moodle gradebook with activities in Second Life. For example, students who find objects or interact with devices in Second Life can be credited for their behavior. Point values can be assigned to activities, with the points being displayed in Second Life via the SLOODLE Awards Scoreboard while, in Moodle, the student’s activities are logged and, where appropriate, points are added to the grade book.

The SLOODLE tools are free and can be downloaded and installed by anyone with administrative access to Moodle. Visit their website http://sloodle.org for more information.

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