Virtual world teaches skills for real life

Photo: ROB McELDOWNEY/MIT PHOTOGRAPHER

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: MIT student Aziz Qasimi is part of a foundation learning class using the virtual world of Second Life to fine-tune their interviewing skills.

Preparing for a job interview can be extremely nervewracking and time-consuming.

Decisions need to be made about what to wear, what questions to ask and how much research to do.

But a group of students at the Manukau Institute of Technology are taking part in a pilot project that’s come up with a novel way to combat job interview jitters – by roleplaying in a virtual world.

The foundation learning students will spend time in Second Life – a virtual world with its own currency and about 15 million registered users – practising their interviewing skills and critiquing their performance.

They can also replay their interviews to other students and get their feedback.

Students have control over the way their own avatar – or character – looks, what they wear, how they respond to questions and whether they shake hands, blow a kiss or chuckle.

The programme is part of the Second Life Education in New Zealand project funded by the Tertiary Education Commission.

Project lead educator and MIT lecturer Merle Lemon says the students can role-play interviews for teaching, travel, business, engineering, social work, teaching, nursing and tourism jobs in a specifically created virtual environment.

"Second Life gave us an opportunity to deal with more students at the same time as well as making the learning engaging," she says.

For 26-year-old MIT student Aziz Qasimi the new virtual classroom is proving "good fun".

His avatar wears bright green checkered pants, a tie-dyed leopard spot top and brown dress shoes. His hair is silver and flows out behind him when he walks – or flies – around.

Mr Qasimi hasn’t used Second Life before but says he can see how it could be a useful learning tool, although he does admit he’ll probably have to change his avatar into a suit and tie when job interviews start.

Foundation learning students from Otago Polytechnic and Northland’s NorthTec will join the MIT students in the virtual classroom later this month.

For more information on the Second Life project see http://slenz.wordpress.com.

- © Fairfax NZ News