Lessons Learned in Developing a Second Life Educational Environment

Virtual worlds are rapidly spreading beyond gaming and entertainment into education and the corporate world. Should this trend continue, as forecast by the industry, then immersive applications will become more prominent, with bespoke software developed in the metaverse affording both opportunities and challenges. This paper reflects on the experience of developing a learning virtual space based on Second Life as part of an innovation project at The Open University, UK. The paper focuses on the lessons learnt from the viewpoint of managing the development of the learning environment, and could be of benefit to educators and educational technologists who are thinking to engage in this sort of development.