Can Second Life Solve Classroom Crowding?

In a report from Sun Microsystem’s Worldwide Education and Research Conference (which is taking place now in San Francisco), CNET News makes an interesting point about Second Life, the virtual world that’s becoming increasingly popular with colleges. To some campus officials, Second Life may still seem like a novelty. But to administrators at large, public universities, the technology offers a possible solution to classroom overcrowding.



The California State University system, for example, is worried that rising enrollment will put a pinch on classroom space. So Charles B. Reed, the system’s chancellor, says he expects his students to become more like telecommuters — meeting with professors and classmates once a week and spending the rest of their time downloading course work and hanging out in virtual worlds.