Second Life Professional Development

Sitting down next to a lion, a biker dude, and a princess, I knew this would be one of my more interesting professional development sessions. My experience with Second Life up until this point had been very limited. I've floated around on ISTE Island before, picked up some free gear and food, and even joined a dance party. However, I had yet to seen the educational opportunities. In joining a professional development session through ISTE, I witnessed the potential that Second Life has. About 30 people, scattered across the globe were able to watch a lecture (with powerpoint), and converse. It was quite remarkable. However, in all honesty, I did not have a great personal experience. The topic of discussion concerned programming in Second Life, and was well beyond my understanding. While I didn't learn anything from the presenter (like I said, well above my head), I was able to learn about the educational opportunities of Second Life. Not many other programs enable such sessions and meeting opportunities. The presenter also showed us how second life could be used for virtual field trips (although since I teach minors, I can't use this in my class). However, in regards to free professional development opportunities, Second Life may be useful for me. Plus, there were lions and princesses, which is always fun.