My review will focus on four criteria established in Chapter 9 of The Design and Use of Simulation Computer Games in Education

• Teacher Prep
  
• Class Size
  
• Learner Engagement
  
• Infrastructure
  

Teacher Prep
Teacher training is very important when incorporating any type of technology into a classroom. We have just completed renovations at our high school, which has incorporated hundreds of thousands of dollars into technology capabilities in the classroom. Part of my day is spent trying to guide teachers on how to use the equipment itself and help them create curriculum that uses the new technology. If the teacher does not feel comfortable with using technology, then making it into a workable curriculum will be difficult. When discussing games/simulation/MUVE, getting educators (especially secondary teachers) out of their comfort zone of lecturing would be the largest hurdle to overcome. Many teachers also have the misconception that using any type of technology tool means that they will have to spend too much time learning it themselves. There is an extremely helpful blog that discusses a wide range of topics that are specific to Second Life and its educational value/purpose. I think the best training for teachers would be to "play around" with the MUVE itself.


Class Size
I really do not think the size of a class would be an issue with using Second Life. The size or location does not have an affect on what you are trying to accomplish with this MUVE, that's the benefit of using it. If the class is too large, then it can be broken into smaller groups that have their own agenda or project to complete. Guidance systems are not available, but if you wanted to purchase an island that would allow for a smaller area of focus instead of the entire realm that can be done.


Learner Engagement
In my own personal experience as a teacher, I believe any time you can incorporate the use of technology into your curriculum you have "sparked" students interest. Teenagers, in general, are much better at communicating electronically, instead of face-to-face. I have students who will text message one another instead of walking across the room to have an actual conversation. So, to integrate Second Life or MUVEs like it into the classroom would motivate more of them to participate in class when you compare it to lack of participation in most classrooms today.


Infrastructure
The only equipment you need to use Second Life is a computer and Internet access. There is not software to purchase or licensing issues to deal with. Factors that would have an affect when trying to incorporate any type of game/simulation/MUVE is whether there are enough computers available at your school or in your classroom for students to use and whether they have a computer and the Internet at home if they are required to work on it outside of class.