Virtual worlds, real learning?

The Eduserv Foundation 2007 symposium attempted to look past the hype surrounding virtual worlds such as Second Life and evaluate whether they offer real opportunities for learners at UK educational institutions.

There are some very interesting talks about the pros and cons of using Second Life and other virtual worlds for learning and teaching from this symposium, which are available from the Eduserv website.
http://www.eduserv.org.uk/foundation/symposium/2007/presentations

Hamish MacLeod's presentation about the University of Edinburgh's use of Second Life shows why they found Second Life more flexible than other worlds.

If you're wondering what Second Life is all about, this symposium will give you a good introduction.

For more about what the OU is doing, see the Schome wiki.