Exploring other virtual worlds

OK, I admit it. The glimmer on Second Life has worn off somewhat. It's still the most customizable, the best-used, and the most cutting-edge virtual world out there. But as a teacher, I have to admit it's really not there yet for widespread use with K12. The biggest problems, in no particular order:
1. Unnecessarily steep learning curve. Not everyone wants/needs the same abilities to customize everything about everything. More basic modes would really help.
2. Huge resource consumption. I couldn't even use it during a brief period when it was unblocked at my school. It was craaaawling, and that was with one user - imagine a class of 20 kids trying to do something.
3. The partition between teen grid and adult grid makes it hard to collaborate with other educators in a space that's accessible to students, too. Plus, only about half the students in middle school are already 13 or older.

So I've been testing the waters, looking at other options for shared educational spaces. Here are three that I'm keeping an eye on:

1. Habbo. It's not nearly as immersive as other virtual worlds, but it does make it fairly easy to set up a persistent space (meaning people can access it even when you're not around) that is somewhat customizable. But I'll be honest: in some ways, it really acts and feels like an old-school chatroom and doesn't have much "dazzle" to it. And setting up a space can quickly get costly (comparatively). I do like that it needs little computing power or bandwidth to work. Generally, it seems geared towards preteens and young teens. Here's a screenshot:


2. Multiverse. Though still only for PCs, the Multiverse platform shows great potential for virtual worlds for specific purposes. If you're familiar with SL, imagine each sim being its own world, with its own unique commands and avatar looks. The folks at Multiverse say they want their platform to be used by lots of different types of people and have some attractive setups in place for both commercial and non-profit virtual worlds. The example worlds they have set up are pretty impressive but usually empty, so it's hard to get a sense of how interaction feels using the platform. Seems to be geared towards the geek set at this point, but I think it has a bright future as more compelling environments are rolled out.

3. vSide. This one has come a long way since I first looked at it in August of 2007. It looks and feels like SL, without the clunkiness. Now in the third iteration of its beta form, you can set up private spaces (unfortunately, they're only available when you're online) which are somewhat customizable. The neatest feature of the private spaces for me is the ability to choose YouTube videos that can be played and shared with a group in real time. There are also a number of music channels to choose from that again are enjoyed communally. Although I haven't figured it out yet, I understand there's even the ability for a room owner to use a microphone and pass it around for voice chatting. I would love to bring a group of students into this environment to check it out. It feels just about right for middle and high school kids. Outside of the private spaces there are lots of public spaces to explore, with lots of music playing everywhere. I like that you earn "vPoints" for interacting, completing quest-type activities, and just being inworld which can be used to purchase items for your space or clothing for your avatar. Unlike Habbo and to a certain degree SL, it's still an interesting space even when you're alone. Here's a screenshot of my apartment in vSide (which thanks to vPoints I was able to set up for free, though there's also a "pay for credits" option if you're so inclined):


If you want to, you can get in touch with me in any of these virtual worlds by searching for my avatar name, "Gxeremio".