In continuing my work on multi-user virtual environments and their potential applications for education I contacted Rebecca Nesson, one of the key architects behind Berkman Island, the Second Life realm for the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.

I expected either an email response to some of my questions, or some way to contact her over the phone. Instead, Ms. Nesson invited me into the Second Life world to conduct my interview before the Internet & Society class was scheduled to meet.

The interview was informative and I was allowed to sit in on the class (at-large seats are open to the public). I even contributed a thing or two. The possibilities for the format were apparent, as were some potential drawbacks, the most distracting of which was a “griefer” who thought it fun to wave a German flag with a swastika in front of the screen which was streaming a video for the class.

If you are interested in sitting in on this class, they meet on Tuesdays at 7:30 EST in Berkman Island.