Second+Life+isn't+getting+a+second+chance+in+my+book

When our school started pushing 21st century skills, and when I signed up for the YU EdTech certificate program, it was made very clear that technology is not the end result, it’s just a tool to help us get there. Throughout these courses we have been exposed to and had “shimush” with so many different tools, and that was amazing. I have gained so much knowledge, and my 21st century appetite has been growing too. However, this week, when the assignment called for us creating avatar’s and joining Second Life, all the good feelings seeped out of me. The concept of SL, is that people who might be inhibited by nature, and don’t necessarily have the means, time, or energy to travel, can send their avatar anywhere they want to in the virtual world. You can meet new people, see new places, and even do a little business too. In school we were shown a clip in where there are virtual universities where one can attend and graduate with a degree. On paper this all sounds great, but in reality, I am pretty skeptical. Here are my overall concerns: We had an assignment to go on a treasure hunt, seems pretty harmless. Yet after creating my avatar, my avatar seemed to be pretty popular and people started chatting with my avatar in different languages. In order to get them to leave me alone, I started doing strange things like bowing, laughing, dancing, or just sitting down. Once I got to the cave to look for the treasure, I somehow ended up in a pretty shady club where someone kept on giving me free gifts. I found the treasures and got out of there as soon as I could. I can see the potential for possibly having my students take virtual trips to places like Israel or the like, but my concern is that along the way who says that they won’t get sidetracked or become sidetracked? The getting around wasn’t too much fun either. I know that it’s a bit of a learning curve, but I am a bit of a gamer, and these graphics, and movement leaves a lot to be desired. I had a very hard time lining myself up with the treasure chest to read the words inside the chest. It was pretty cool to fly, but walking through walls and such, just didn’t do it for me. I went to visit a Shul [], it was really pretty and had all the ingredients that one needs for an Orthodox Shul. It has the Tefillah L’Shalom Hamedinah in Hebrew and in English, it has Sefarim, it has an Ezrat Nashim, it had a place to click and get a kippah and now I got to wear it in Shul (how cool is that), and it also has a picture of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in the hallway. But at the same time, there were no Sifrei Torah in the Aron Kodesh. The sign in the shul read Parshat Bereishit, yet it also called for Al Hanissim, Pirkei Avot, and Chag Hashavuot (they must have been in between gabbaim). The concern that I have, is that who is overseeing the accuracy of this virtual world? If I understand it correctly, every user has the ability to add to SL. Where and what are the guidelines? I am aware that I need to prepare my students for “the real world”, and that is something I take very seriously. The question that I am raising here is, but is preparing them for SL part of that same charge?