Movable Life is the first successful attempt (that I’ve seen) to integrate Second Life into a web browser. Movable Life allows Second Life users to log into their Second Life accounts and chat with their friends, send IM, teleport on the map and so on, but without the 3D and any of the graphics. And this is the problem with it. When you leave out the avatars and all the 3D elements, what do you get? Another IM application.

I’ve been using Second Life in my courses for about a year soon and one of the problems that we have faced is that not everybody has a computer that would run Second Life, at least not without any hickups. It has usually been down to the graphics card. This is especially a problem for Open University students that mainly use their own computers or computers where they work. As educators we can’t demand that students upgrade their computers so that they can take part of the lectures inworld. Or can we? This is why we need alternative ways to access Second Life, alternative ways to take part of the inworld lectures and group assignments. Integrating Second Life into a web browser could be a solution. But the solution is not Movable Life, at least not yet.