The diversity of avatars represented as real life human beings was quite amazing in Chicago this weekend. Linden Labs did a great job organizing the conference - including regrouping when the education sessions overwhelmed their allotted space and they switched us out with one of the smaller groups.
Some are starting to question the potential here. I've heard comments like "lots of buildings and place but no avatars/people." I think it's still in early stage development and, as more is built, more will come. In the early days of the web, there was the idea that you had to be able to program to make the most use of it. While you need to have some concept of what programming can do and what it can make possible and how it works when it works correctly, the same assessment applies to Second Life. As long as you understand a bit about what building entails, you don't need to know how to build. There are plenty of in world characters and companies that will build for you so that you can spend your time in other ways.
I still mainly enjoy interacting with others that I wouldn't meet in real life but with whom I share common interests. It's also a great way to stay in touch with people you don't physically see on a regular basis. We're all so busy these days and a few minutes popping into Second Life is like a quick phone chat or IM in some ways.
Of course, Chicago is always a great location for a conference.
The bottom line is that there is so much out there in the world of technology that we all need to use what makes the most sense to use in our world - whether we are talking about our professional lives or our non-professional lives. One of the session leaders commented that kids decide what they need to do without worrying too much about the tools. We that are not kids any more still worry the most about selecting the correct tools _first_. If we want to continue to be effective teachers, we have to understand where the students are coming from and address their interests. It's also the concept that they pull the information and learning they need when they need it rather than passively accepting _only_ what we deliver. Learning is certainly changing. I keep thinking that I would have been all over this as a student - I was always looking for workbooks, etc., in the dime stores (and there's very few of those any more, either). My brain would have been glued to my computer.