i received the sad news today that KJ Hax (RL: Kevin Jarrett) and Laelia Laval (RL: Nancy Sharoff) have decided to close SLolar Central next month.
SLolar Central - during its two years - was designed to be a place where educators new to Second Life could find their feet during that critical first month of their respective avatars' in-world experiences. in the words of the introduction to the Google Group (which will also be disbanded), SLolar Central was a gathering place for educators "can experiment with modes of communication, movement, etc. to enhance their SL experiences, offering free temporary "homes" for people to use as they explore".
i was fortunate enough to be one of the pioneer cohort of SLolar Central residents, and i can still remember the excitement of moving in and choosing a desk and meeting my neighbours - this was just after the original Second Life Best Practices in Education 2007 conference; so the closure is all the more poignant considering that the Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education 2009 conference is taking place this very weekend that the news broke.
KJ and Laelia, in their farewell message to members past and present, say that they "just feel it hasn't evolved into the community we thought it would - but we certainly tried!"
growing and nurturing a community is notoriously challenging, and many books and academic papers have been written about this very subject. i still do subscribe to the RSS feeds from some of my fellow SLolar Central residents whom i first met way back then.
i guess i would just like to encourage everyone - and especially the educators in Second Life - not to lose heart, especially given the present global economic climate. there is still a wealth of diverse research and pedagogical initiatives in education in Second Life, as a stroll through the vendor exhibits area of VWBPE 2009 will quickly confirm. there's so much we can contribute and learn from.
thank you, KJ and Laelia, for sharing your vision and pointing the way!
