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Gaming World Becomes University Classroom
— Chew-Goh Swee Wah
NUS Second Life (NUS SL) is an online 3D virtual world imagined and conceptualised to enable learning, teaching, sharing, social interacting,
playing and working where creativity thrives beyond imagination.
It is 'co-designed, co-built and co-owned'
by the students, faculties, staff and the Computer Centre.
RidgeCat is an identity in the
virtual world. Uniquely NUS, it is the brainchild of a
team of pioneering students in NUS SL.
Gaming WORLD Becomes University Classroom
The ribbon cutting of NUS Second Life in March 2008, on a trial basis,
aims to:
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Inspire students to think, connect, create, and share; using technology to help fulfill individual potential, dissolve boundaries, and create a better learning environment, and
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Nurture and develop Learning & Innovation Skills on Creativity & Innovation; Critical Thinking & Problem Solving; Communication & Collaboration; Cross-cultural Understanding and IT & Media Fluencies.
Since then, it has generated positive interests from the
students and faculties. To date, 6 tutorial sessions have been
conducted in the 3D in-world, with 1,250 students actively participating in the academic deliveries. There are a total of 3,000 registered Avatars in NUS SL so far.
True to any virtual worlds, some just love it, while others
shunned it at arm’s length.
Some would prefer things real while others thrill in immersing in the 3D virtual realms. It’s a choice. And
this choice it seems, is becoming increasingly popular among today’s Generation Y whose multi-modal learning style
is commonly mixed with the use of technology.
Reflections on some pedagogical approaches (to name a few), may be that learning in a virtual world;
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increases student interactivity and the
effectiveness in communication;
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it challenges us to look for more effective means of assessment, including embedded assessment;
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students gain greater learning satisfaction and motivation where they are more participative and contribute more actively;
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allow us to explore new directions and more challenging and rigorous concepts to determine which content is rooted in a medium of the past, and how that can be translated to a more relevant and authentic learning experience appropriate to digital Generation Y;
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it assists in creating collaborative learning communities connected in unique and exciting ways where learning becomes gaming, and gaming becomes learning.
NUS Second Life is accessible at http://u.nus.edu.sg/secondlife. Kindly contact my colleagues, John at or Biaogang at if you wish to
give it a try.
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