Professor Merryman

Chatbots in Second Life

I am trying to find ways to connect my students with the outside world by utilizing virtual worlds and various communication devices. But just as is the problem with meeting people in real life, so is the problem in Second Life. There just aren’t that many chances to meet people. This makes it incredibly difficult. Collaborating with schools halfway across the globe is extremely time consuming and very undependable. So what is we could have a place which was available 24 hours a day and was always available for interaction?

Here’s the concept. We make a place in Second Life that is always advertised as having someone real or not available for chatting. Let’s say for instance I am learning English and I would like to practice. I know that I can go to English Village and text chat with a robot, but that’s kind of boring. So where do I go? Nowhere. I give up because I don’t know where to go. But what if there was a chance that some real people might show up at that robot chat place? Then I could practice my English with a real person. So I teleport over there to see if there is anyone else around. Lucky for me there is someone there talking to the robot. So I walk up and say “Hi.” Pretty soon we have struck up a conversation, and I have made a new chat buddy.

More to come.