Summary of my presentation!

My Term Research Project was on "Second life,Webkinz and the future of virtual world on higher education". On my presentation i described what is the Second life and Webkinz and what impact they have on education. Also i gave some examples of universities which are using this web sites for educational purpose and explained some advantages of doing so. And I tried to fill my presentation with pictures for better visual effects. At the end of my presentation i introduced a short video about impact of virtual world on higher education.

How do we distinguish “new media” from “old” media?

“New media” in general refer to those digital media, which are interactive, incorporate two-way communication and involve some form of computing as opposed to “old media” such as the telephone, radio and TV.

Advice to Baruch College

On my "New Media" class i did presentation on "Second Life, Webkinz, and the Future of virtual world on higher education", so i definitely would suggest to have a Baruch college on Second life, many universities use Second life for educational purpose, and they found that it's very effective, so why Baruch can't try. And also i would suggest to offer some online courses. Online courses are convenient for the student.One of the best advantages of online classes is flexibility.

Outline of my presentation

1.Second Life, Webkinz, and the Future of Virtual Worlds in Higher Education.
2.What is Second Life?
3.Using Virtual Worlds in Education Programs.
4.some examples
5.why we should use Second Life for education
6.101 Uses for Second Life in the College Classroom
7.What is Webkinz?
8. Future of Virtual Worlds in Higher Education.
9.The End

Effect of New Media on Society

The media is very influential in today society . Changes in technology clearly affect the nature of the media, making new means of communication possible. The new media allows instant access to the news, games,movies,music and other information through internet. Because of New Media you can work,study,communicate with people throughout the world and shop from home. So, almost nobody in today society can imagine his life without new media.

Checking Out Some Social Networking Sites.

I tried to visit some of the social networking sites and the first one was "Second life" http://www.secondlife.com. Second Life is a 3-D virtual world created by its Residents.From the moment you enter the World you'll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you've explored a bit, perhaps you'll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business. You'll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow Residents. Because Residents retain intellectual property rights in their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other Residents. The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the in world unit of trade, the Linden™ dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online Linden dollar exchanges. So, i was impressed by how many things you can do there. It can explore your creativity and imagination.

Next one was My space http://www.myspace.com. MySpace is an online community that lets you meet your friends' friends.You can share photos, journals and interests with your friends.

You can add or listen music and videos. It has forums, blogs, and IM.

And the last one was Facebook http://www.facebook.com/. Facebook is also a social networking website with a free registration. Users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profile to notify friends about themselves.

So,all three sites that i visited was almost the same a specially the "My space" and "Facebook". They have the same purpose(communication). The "Second life" little different it's more creative, but it is for the same purpose: communication.

Social Networking and Virtual Worlds

What are some ways (corporate and otherwise) that these technologies can be used?

In our time the Internet is one of the fastest growing methods of communications, used for a variety of reasons. Because people can remain anonymous in a virtual world they can also feel free to explore with different types of their identity. You can alter your style of being just slightly different or indulge in wild experiments with your identity by changing your age, history, personality, physical appearance, and even your gender. Building networks is of great importance as it allows us to build relationships between like-minded people. It is not surprising that MySpace and later virtual networking sites, such as FaceBook have become popular. Teens and young adults spend a great deal of time on the computer. Professional recruiters have started hunting for job candidates using social networking technology - like the kind found on the popular sites MySpace and Facebook.("Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting by Frank Langfitt"). Another form of online social sites that is beginning to gain momentum in the ad industry is virtual worlds. These sites are hybrids between games and social networks. They allow members to develop characters called avatars and then explore worlds and interact with other avatars. One of the leading avatar sets is Secondlife. Toyota, CSI, and other big name companies have put a lot of money into developing sites in Secondlife.
A large hotel chain has built its own hotels in Second Life to test-market a new brand. They’re modifying their hotel designs based on suggestions from their users and how they react to these virtual models.("What’s Next? Your Future in Social Networking"vol 121, p. 42.) National Geographic is currently considering launching sites in Secondlife in order to spread awareness and encourage travel.

What are the benefits of these technologies to society?

Virtual social technologies reduce the cost of doing business. You can pull together an innovation very, very quickly by leveraging thoughts and expertise from around the world.

"Dark side":

NBC News: "The Dark Side of the Web is Second Life"

http://www.centernetworks.com/ second-life-dark-side
NBC News: "The Dark Side of the Web is Second Life" Written By Allen Stern - August 27, 2008 I am not an expert in virtual worlds but on the news tonight there was a segment on Second Life which I thought was worth sharing. The NBC news anchor starts by saying, "The Dark Side of the Web...is Second Life". The segment discusses how parents should keep their teenagers away from Second Life because of all of the sex, porn, drugs, and suicide that occurs in the virtual world.

My opinion of the way these technologies might evolve in the future:

I believe that in the future, social networks will be using everywhere and by everyone. I think it's will be improved in some way, and hopefully became more secure. But any way real life and real communication is better and more enjoyable thing!