A Classroom of Bunnies, Blimps, and Werewolves: Teaching Asian Religions Online in Second Life

• Main Author: M. Alyson Prude
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Open Library of Humanities 2013-05-01
• Series: The ASIANetwork Exchange: A Journal for Asian Studies in the Liberal Arts
• Subjects: Second Life; Online education; Instructional Technology
• Online Access: http://www.asianetworkexchange.org/articles/73

Virtual environments promise a myriad of exciting opportunities for college and university online teaching, but how much do they actually deliver? This evaluation of the use of Second Life in an Asian religions course contributes to the small but growing body of literature addressing the incorporation of online virtual worlds into higher education. It discusses benefits and drawback of teaching in Second Life and suggests Asian-inspired Second Life locations that can be useful in the classroom. Given instructor commitment to making use of the unique possibilities Second Life offers, including synchronous communication, virtual world fieldtrips, animations, and the potential for guest lectures and international participation, Second Life can provide a lively and interesting alternative for online Asian-content courses.