Virtual worlds can impact many aspects of our daily life. One of the ways virtual worlds can be used is in our learning environment. This course is a great example of the use of virtual worlds. Typically, us as students have to commute to our college and sit in on our lectures. Virtual worlds has allowed for an easy way to communicate with and learn from a professor. There are two sides to consider the pros and cons of the situation: students and professors. Students may view online courses with many pros because the hour long commute is no longer a problem. One big con to this is the "reliance of information service providers, viruses and low speed of connections" (Posey et al 1). On the side of the professors, they are able to get creative with their presentations.
Another aspect of our daily life in which virtual worlds have now become a part of is our social life. Virtual worlds have made in a way made people more keen to staying in and experiencing things virtually rather than going out into the real world. An example of this is VLES (Virtual Lower East Side). I had been completely unaware that such a program existed where an actual neighborhood is presented virtually and you are able to experience it fully. The only pro I can see to this is for outsiders to familiarize themselves with an area to feel more comfortable navigating it in reality. The major con is one that Dave Itzkoff brings up in his article, "For decades, the Lower East Side has derived its coolness from at least a veneer of danger and inaccessibility. Venturing there for the first time required risking the disapproval of the locals, whether they were the immigrants who once populated its tenements, the drug dealers who shouted from rooftops to warn of unfamiliar faces, or the bartenders and bouncers who didn’t recognize you as a regular." It is a little concerning to think of the idea of 3-D social networking because it'll play a huge role in people no longer feeling comfortable enough to communicate in real life.
Itzkoff, Dave. “I’Ve Been in That Club, Just Not in Real Life.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Jan. 2008, www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html.
Posey, Guy, et al. “The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Virtual Classroom and the Role of the Teacher.” Normal, Alabama.
Hi Katelynne. I agree with you that today 3-D social networking playing in big role in people’s real life. I was not aware about VLES also until I read this article. And after I read it I thought even though I knew there is a such program I would not use it. I either go there or if there are too many people I’ll go somewhere else. I think the main idea of social life is to spend your time with real people, not with virtual friends. When you chat, you can’t tell who is that guy in real life. I’m absolutely against virtual reality if it is just to spend free time. I think virtual reality is useful for educational purposes only. It can prepare you for emergency or for exam, but for nothing else. It can’t teach you how to communicate and make new friends in real life. I think nothing can substitute real life communication. I have many friends and relatives in different countries, and even we know each other for years, when I talk to them other the phone or skype it is still not the same as I talk to them in person.
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