I have been involved with Second Life since the beginning of August. Due to the frequent chatter about it among Discovery Educators and the fact that they were planning to have meetings there, I finally dusted off the old avatar I tried to get going in February and finally got her through orientation. There was a bit of a learning curve, but once I put my mind to it, it was not so bad after all. ( How I started out as a fox I do not know. I look much better now.)

It has been great fun to meet with other DEN members at DEN Headquarters. The members of the leadership council have worked very hard to organize informative sessions such as getting around in Second Life, podcasting, and digital storytelling, as well as fun events such as a Halloween party and walking tours of the island. I think by far the most awesome experience I have had, however, has been the opportunity to meet and become friends with people from all over the world. Chance encounters shopping for shoes or striking up conversations with someone you land next to after a teleport can open a world of opportunity in communication. It does help that I can speak Spanish of course, and most of Latin America is in a reasonable time zone for communication. But I have friends on my “friend list” from England, Ireland, Spain, France, Israel, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, and USA. Some of them have become very good friends. It is also humbling to see how many of these people around the globe speak excellent English. I actually have only 2 friends with whom I can only communicate in Spanish. I am embarrassed at my limited language skills in comparison.

It can become somewhat addictive at times. I actually wonder what my friends are doing and what I am missing when I am not “inworld” but all in all it has been a most educational experience. And the shopping and dancing are not bad either!