Mark Bell & Guest Speaking

In lecture Mark Bell discussed virtual economics and Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is basically a trend associated with Internet technology that promotes openness, creativity and sharing amongst users. In class Mark Bell noted how this is a bottom up approach. Essentially, the argument with web 2.0 is that the more people share, the more people can benefit and that takes the power away from a few select individuals and distributes it more evenly amongst internet uses. It’s the “you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours” mentality, and it allows everyone to benefit. Mark Bell also spoke about the private user’s potential for commercial success. He talked about Second Life and how production and distribution is very different. Bell stated that rather than conglomerates taking over, the typical store owner is female and a full time worker who uses Second Life to add to their income. I’ve really been interested by the business side of Second Life, and it was discussed that more people will spend time in SL because it is of better value than time spend in RL. Also, it seems obvious that Second Life wouldn’t have been able to grow as huge as it is now, and with as many structures and objects if people hadn’t been sharing knowledge all along. Societies may be able to exist without sharing, but they are not able to flourish...and it is clear that SL is wildly successful because the majority of its users are committed to helping and learning from each other. SL is also a great opportunity for users who are looking to add to their income, and especially users who may need to work from home – whether it’s because they have small children or have some type of disability. This gives a whole other meaning to the phrase: “Having the best of both worlds”.


I think SL works very well as a guest speaker tool, whether you’re in SL watching a guest speaking or in RL watching SL. I think this also adds a new dimension to traditional lectures. More importantly, it allows for teachers to draw on a wealth of knowledge and students to learn from experts around the world. This could really change the education that students receive because they could now learn information straight from the source – instead of reading about a theorist from Japan, he could lecture over SL. This allows a lot of boundaries to be crossed and borders to be blurred. I know as a student it’s very hard to choose what University to go to, but now you could choose Brock University and still get lectures from a professor in Australia, or take part in seminars offered at a Princeton campus. I think this tool could offer a lot of crossover benefits. As well, as we have seen in our class, when you have lectures in SL, obstacles such as the weather don’t matter because you can just meet online and continue as planned. This is a great feature for distance learners who can listen in on professors and experts speaking from the comfort of their own home. Also, it can be a hassle to book guest speakers because of driving, flight, living arrangements etc. But this way the speaker does not have to travel either if they don’t want to. I definitely think having guest speakers is an effective tool and will become increasingly popular in schools with time.