Business as Usual

By Westley on Monday, September 27, 2010 - Related Tags:- news

Today Linden Lab announced that they are closing the teen grid. This business decision helps them to refocus in order to become a more sustainable business long into the future. Personally, I thank Linden Lab for sticking with the teen grid for so long. The grid was never an area that made money for the company. The support the Linden's provided education, via the provision of the platform, the forums and the teen grid itself, has provided a chance for us all to experience the fantastic benefits of virtual worlds in education.

Community has always been the strength of Skoolaborate. We have learning units of work that connect our partners around the world, we have processes and systems to make using virtual worlds as easy as possible, and we have a committed team who are very determined continue our success. What we have always said, at Skoolaborate, is that we will use the best systems available to deliver these learning opportunities to our students. At this point that 'best system' is Second Life. We have been and will continue to work with Linden Lab to explore the next option.

It is great to see that the Lindens have offered time and support to work with all of us to help us work through this time of transition. We will continue to work with Linden Lab and use our own research to ensure that our global community thrive. I feel confident that, when the time comes to change over, we will have made the best possible decision for our partners and students. I just hope we can either stay with the Lindens or find another solution that offers such amazing support and encouragement.

I would like to thank the Lindens for all the great times that they have provided us so far and for leading the way with virtual worlds. Their work has truly inspired educators and students world wide. Finally, one more thanks for the tremendous, thorough and professional support that the Lindens have provided to myself personally and to Skoolaborate over the years. I hope their business plans bring much deserved success and that somehow we can continue working together. Cheers to the pioneers.

To close I want to re assure our current members and future members that this is simply another challenge for us to learn from. The last 4 years have provided many such challenges and, together, we have converted them into exciting and stimulating learning opportunities. This is yet another opportunity. We will continue to provide the best possible learning opportunities for our students wordwide. I can't wait to see what that looks like.

Westley Field