Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds are still a developing concept being explored. They do however provide us with many advances. According to Diane Mehta’s article After Second Life, Can Virtual Worlds Get a Reboot, virtual worlds can be used in education, in delivery services, or as an advanced for of telehealthcare. They can also give us social connectivity, built-in support groups, and other ways to “avoid ever being alone again.” Virtual worlds most certainly foster creativity, especially among children. There are about 2 billion accounts registered for virtual worlds and children aged 5-15 own about half. This shows how children use and rely on these virtual worlds to educate, socialize, and be creative.

When it comes to the medical world, virtual worlds can help in a variety of ways. When training new hires, virtual training has become the most cost efficient and it doesn’t interrupt a hospitals regular business.  The Wall Street Journal introduces to us a scenario in which students are able to use these virtual worlds to better their training. The whole “scenario” is about 3 hours long and then the next day either via an actual classroom or through the Second Life virtual world, a professional will tell them where they made their errors and where they can better themselves. I think this is a huge pro to the medical world and seems very effective.