I have seen some of the educational resources in SL to which the original posting on this subject referred, but have never taken students there. I confess that were I to do so, I would be mildly worried: some of these, while informative and well-done, are rather disturbing.
My concern has always been about introducing undergrads into SL culture as a whole, which often seems to me to be rather "Wild West" in makeup. While it is true, I suppose, that the new "Adult" designation will shield (at least temporarily) the students from some of the more distasteful and disturbing elements of SL's "dark side" -- I mean things like vorarephilia and the "dark sims" that specialize in activities like rape or snuff role playing -- it doesn't keep away griefers, nor the more common-and-garden variety sexual predator (whom we know sometimes target newbies).
At 18 (at least), I believe that most of my students are quite capable of taking care of themselves, given the proper warnings and preparation. But this last is key. I wouldn't set a group of 18 year olds down in the middle of a strange city without providing some guidance. SL is strange, and potentially dangerous enough, to warrant the same. Even if our classes themselves never venture away from our hermetically-sealed and sterilized virtual campuses, we are still introducing students to a world where the adventurous and the curious, who are likely to explore further (if only to go shopping), can potentially find themselves victimized. Nor do I buy the argument that it is not different from sending students to Google: the interactive and role playing elements of SL make it much more potentially threatening and perilous to the unwary than merely accidentally happening upon a (passive) online porn site.
I quite firmly believe, then, that it is truly irresponsible to bring students into SL without giving them a fairly comprehensive picture of the culture, and the perils, to be found here. And to do that, the educators themselves must have a reasonably clear idea of what is out there. I've spoken to some colleagues, for instance, who had no idea what "Gor" even was, yet alone that it is to be found so extensively in SL, and (more astonishingly still) to others who were only dimly aware that "sex," in all of its varieties, is actually a pretty major theme of this virtual world.
Before bringing a class into SL, then, I give them a pretty thorough briefing about how the culture here differs from RL, what sorts of hazards and/or "disturbing material" they might happen across, as well as a few basic safety tips, including (of course) the most important: NEVER reveal anything about yourself that might assist someone in tracking down your RL identity. There are a few good online resources that assist in providing both a good overview of the culture, as well as safety tips. I also give them a sort of guide to conduct, adapted from one used by a colleague.
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