Students who grow tired of the traditional face-to-face method of learning often try to find alternatives to getting up, getting dressed and going to class. As a result, more courses are now offered online.

Students can log in whenever they please, do readings at their leisure and complete assignments at any time of day. However, online courses lack the element of visual learning; quality face-to-face learning is lost among a world of 2-D text.

Second Life, a 3-D virtual world, allows its inhabitants to create a digital environment to socialize, work and learn. After creating an avatar, you can live a second life in virtual reality. Aline Click, assistant director of eLearning at NIU, has been researching Second Life and its possibilities for students. She collaborated with the geology department in order to create a virtual representation of NIU known as “Glidden Campus” in 2005.

On Glidden Campus, students can walk around and socialize with other students. As far as large landmarks, campus is made up of Altgeld Hall and the lagoon. A one-room schoolhouse, an after-class bar, and even a memorial site complete with flowers and crosses (to commemorate the victims of Feb. 14), make up other aspects of Glidden Campus.

“I’m working with the interested faculty on this project in hopes to expand the campus,” Click said. “From what I’ve gathered, a majority of feedback is highly positive, and students and faculty alike find this program excellent.”

Second Life has been host to at least one class at NIU per semester. The class is typically an online course, and instead of posting responses to a message board, students meet in the designated classroom to discuss the material with one another.

The Second Life program is popular, as many universities either have a virtual campus or are looking into creating one. Universities, companies and entrepreneurs use this program to learn and even make a living through it.

“Second Life is not a game, it’s a virtual environment,” Click said. “There are so many opportunities for students to socially interact, and its implications on education is fascinating.”

Still, Second Life doesn’t come without criticism. A common argument against Second Life is its anything-goes-in-the-virtual-world environment. Fortunately, Glidden Campus possesses a set of rules. If a student violates a rule, they can be kicked off campus.

The phenomenon of virtual learning eclipsing face-to-face learning is unlikely. Click said the learning objective comes before the learning process, and much of the process depends on the individual preferences of faculty all over the world.

“It’s cool to think that with Second Life, you wouldn’t have to drag yourself to class if it was cold out or if you were sick in bed,” said senior psychology major Jen Hajicek.

Second Life is a great opportunity for students to broaden their perspective on learning. The program is free to students and offers a fresh, new approach to boring 2-D link-clicking.

As the popularity of online classes increase, Second Life should be taken seriously as a medium for students and avatars alike.