Avatars - what can they offer you?

The other day I was thrown off completely when I heard my mother say, "My avatar has red hair." I was stopped in my tracks wondering when, how, and why my mom starting having an avatar? Apparently it's for an online bridge gaming site and she loves it! She called her avatar her alter-ego.

A week or so later, I was looking over my husband's shoulder as he signed into his fantasy football site and I got a glimpse of his avatar. Now, his actually looks just like him, complete with glasses and his standard blue shirt.

To me, creating an avatar is sort of the animated version of playing with paper dolls. Depending on the site or software you're using you can have dozens of body types, facial features, hair colour, clothing, and accessories to choose from. Put together, along with a personal screen name, you can create an image that represents yourself in a 3D virtual world.

If you haven't explored 3D virtual worlds and considered their educational and counselling impact, you can check out some of the most successful: Second Life is a popular social world. Most recently you will find that commerical businesses are setting up real stores within this virtual world. Whyville is a virtual world designed specifically with youth in mind. Active Worlds is another that makes it easy for users to create their own virtual world and avatars.

Avatars certainly aren't a new phenomenon. Today large numbers of online tools and communities are using them to give users ways of expressing themselves online. I have found it interesting that my mom has used this opportunity to have the hair style and earrings she'd never actually wear in real life. Meanwhile my husband worked hard to ensure his avatar matched his real self perfectly.

Both my mom and my husband were participating in entertainment activities. However, their approaches got me thinking about how they might use the avatar experience if they were learning online. Would their approaches change if they were using an avatar to explore their real world career path in a 3D virtual world? Would this temporary paper doll exercise give them the freedom to step into their alter-ego? Or would they make attempts to replicate their current reality?

ASTD (American Society for Training & Development) has set up its own virtual island in Second Life. Check it out as you consider how you could support your clients in self exploration, self expression, communication, visualization, or even interview prepartion using an avatar?

See the clip for more details or follow the link to go directly to the island. ASTD Island