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Silly me. I thought the only controversy in Second Life might be the excessive time some participants spend in world. Wrong. There is a group of users now calling themselves the Second Life Liberation Army, serious about protesting the encroachment of big companies like Sony and IBM into SL. They carry on in world protests and counsels, deliberately "griefing" other groups they resent, mostly corporate entities. They are demanding that Linden Lab (SL's creator) put an end to "corporate control" as they wish to set up their own independent, virtual government including voting rights. Linden Lab doesn't respond, assuming their activites are done tongue-in-cheek. But the movement is gaining momentum and attention. This YouTube video is a BBC news article about the controversy (and yes there are equally venemous right-wing groups). Just when you thought it was peaceful in paradise...(by the way, listen close and you'll get a chuckle out of the female newscaster's pronunciation of the word "avatar" in the introduction)

WOOOOOW. I don't know if that's funny or sad or strange or all f the above. I think people are taking their Gaming a little too seriously. I wonder what these people do in the real life to have enough time to 'protest' ads and corporate placement in SL. DId they really think something that is this big and gaining in popularity would remain untouched by Big Biz forever? Come on now, everything is for sale! Linden needs to make money some how to keep it all up and running. I think people need to step away from the computer once in a while and go outside and live life....

Great example of middle school student created projects on Teen Second Life. Note how sixth graders hire 8th graders using Lindens and project manage collaborative problem solving. Doable, highly engaging and tied to core content.

Categorized lists include: Beautiful Places | Historical Recreations | Commemorations | Museums | Art | Galleries | Science | Technology | Space | Astronomy | Science Fiction Media | Nature | Public Parks | Education | Schools | Libraries | Religious Places | Health | Medical | Dancing | Really Cool Elsewhere | Linden Lab | Second Life Showcase ... and sidebar jpegs to entice you there.

This is an excellent place to shop for musical 'anything.' This place is a dream to for a musician.... It's amazing how authentic and real everything looks. Sure, it costs some Lindens but it's worth it. Features a live host and a variety of instruments and equipment (amps, guitars, pianos, etc.) I purchased a few items here for our group's campsite. Even if you don't want to purchase anything there, it's fun to look around and change the 'view' function to get a good glimpse at something that interests you. As an educator and a musician, I see a benefit here for building and designing 3-D environments.

Virtual Med School? Ok, maybe not quite yet, although this blog post by Clare Linden shares an interview with Dave Taylor from Imperial College London regarding the use of SL as a tool for teaching medical procedures before trying them out on actual patients. Apparently Dave Taylor also built the NPL pavilion for the International Spaceflight Museum in SL as well. The virtual hospital, Second Health, was developed to provide lower-cost simulations of medical devices and help decrease incidents of errors in clinical settings. There are day surgery centers, a "keeping healthy showcase," and a really cool teleporter, reminiscent of Star Trek so you don't have to walk/fly to find things. Some areas are off limits, but there are plenty of things for the public to see. I'm interested in creating something along these lines for health care in a different setting. Blog site: http://blogs.secondlife.com/community/workinginworld/blog/2009/06/01/the-future-of-healthcare-3-questions-for-dave-taylor-of-imperial-college-london SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Second%20Health%20London/131/223/25