STUDENTS’ FIRST IMPRESSION OF SECOND LIFE: A case from the United Arab Emirates

Emerging 3D virtual worlds such as Second Life can offer students with opportunities
to enhance learning using rich collaborative asynchronous media. Virtual worlds are
believed to impact the future of higher education and therefore, universities across the
world are immersing themselves inside virtual worlds to establish a unique learning
and research environments. This research examines the viability of Second Life as an
educational platform from the perspective of a group of students in an Islamic society
context. The students were attending one of the universities in the United Arab
Emirates. The analysis indicates that students experienced both positive and negative
aspects of Second Life. The results do encourage further experimentation in this
positive novel way for learning.