Going to school in Second Life

I often marvel at the strange and unexpected circumstances that enter my life, teach me something, and become thought-provoking. Last Sunday, I slept in and as a result, attended Mass at All Saints Church in Dunwoody. I had no idea that there was going to be a guest Priest, Father Richard Ho Lung, founder of the Order, Missionaries of the Poor, http://www.missionariesofthepoor.org/ . Founded in 1981, Missionaries of the Poor now has over 400 Brothers and provides direct medical, social, educational, food and shelter services to the poor in Jamaica, Haiti, Uganda, India and the Philippines. Father Ho Lung sang, danced, and spoke from the heart about a harsh reality of human suffering that few of us sitting in a warm Church in Dunwoody, Georgia could even imagine. I was moved to tears and in a word, educated. The next day, I read an article on CNN.com, Educators explore "Second Life" online,
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/11/13/second.life.university/index.html , that predicted the rapid growth of the use of virtual technology for educational purposes. According to advocates of virtual learning, virtual worlds such as Second Life are going to grow exponetially to the point where "everyone will become involved in this." This article suggests that Second Life will provide meaningful educational services because of the ability to facilitate world-wide and cross-cultural discussion and to actively engage learners in the educational process. I think these claims are likely accurate and there is something to be said about the ability to engage in cross-cultural dialogue; however, I wonder what might be lost? A virtual world provides a nice fantasy and a convenient escape. How nice it is to not be limited by one's own physical abilities, be fashion magazine attractive, not suffer real consequences for bad decisions, and participate in a world where poverty, hunger, war, disease, and no-hope are nothing more than virtual. Thus, I would advocate the use of technology in education when it helps students engage the world but have concern when it is used to entertain or allow students to escape the reality of suffering in the world.