Abstract:

Depending on the rapid development of technology, many environments, tools and methods are being developed in the field of education and training. These innovations include education in virtual worlds and three-dimensional education technologies that we have encountered frequently in recent years. With the improvement of three-dimensional education technologies, it is known that learning is used in "3D virtual worlds". Accordingly, it is mentioned that virtual environments are used in all levels of education, learning and teaching process.In this study, the virtual world of Second Life, which is a three-dimensional online life simulation and can be defined as an alternative teaching environment, was examined. The aim of this article; Introducing Second Life, a virtual environment that can be used in art and design education, to provide a theoretical perspective, to contribute to researchers and teachers who want to use 3D virtual worlds for educational purposes and to create a theoretical basis for the researches in this environment.Therefore, first of all, 3D virtual worlds are examined from a general perspective. Then, the Second Life application from 3D virtual environments was examined in detail and its general characteristics were defined.In addition, the use of Second Life in education, construction and content creation within the application, art and design making and art education were discussed. For this reason, examples of the artists using the Second Life application were given and some of the educational practices related to how Second Life was used in art and design education were included. In the conclusion part, with the development of technology and the use of virtual worlds in education, the gains that can be achieved in art classes were also included. In this context, the importance of the use of technology, various computer applications (VR, augmented reality applications, etc.) and 3D virtual worlds was mentioned in terms of today's art education gains. It was also stated that the ways of incorporating technology into art education should be questioned.

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