Second Life

Second Life is a virtual world with tens of millions of square meters of virtual lands, more than 13 million "residents," and a thriving economy. The ease in which users can build and modify virtual spaces has made it an attractive choice for experiments in learning space design and educational experiences such as virtual field trips or the creation of galleries to display student-created media. The 7 Things You Should Know About Second Life, EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative’s (ELI) latest brief in the monthly series, examines how Second Life lets educators easily build and modify learning spaces to test how different strategies for a physical space affect learning and how a similar approach can be taken toward educational activities in those spaces.

In coordination with the Virtual Worlds Hot Topic Discussion at lsat years EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, a group was starting in Second Life.  That group had its first meeting on Monday, June 9th.  Following is the edited transcript of that meeting (edited for clarity and readability).

If you are in Second Life, please join the group EDUCAUSE VIRTUAL WORLDS or contact AJ Brooks in world for an invite.

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Supporting Faculty Adoption of Emerging Technologies: Wanderlust or Creating a Campus Roadmap?

• Julie Little, EDUCAUSE, Moderator
• Dolly Young, Associate Professor of Spanish, University of Tennessee,
• Jean Ann Derco, Executive Director, Educational Technology, University of Tennessee
• W. Gardner Campell, Professor of English, University of Mary Washington
• James Groom, Instructional Technology Specialist, University of Mary Washington

Closing General Session
2008 Southeast Regional Conference
Jacksonville, FL
June 4, 2008

My students begin spring break today which is great for me because while they all head south to the beaches on South Padre Island I get to stay home in student-free Austin and attend SXSW. Since we have almost hit the midpoint in the semester i thought now is a good time to share some of the work they have been doing in my Working in Virtual Worlds Class.

Tasks completed so far in SL:

1. Get to the island

2. Claim a condo

3. Use their condo to tell a story

4. Give a tour of their condo to the class and tell their story

5. Build a flag that waves in the wind, a bench, and send a postcard and notecard

6. Create a group and take the class on a tour of an SL location

7. use a 4096m plot of land and create a scene with a group.

#7 was just completed on Tuesday, mind you, they have had weekly readings, weekly 350 word blog posts, and a test already this semester. Here are the instructions i gave for #7.

Nathan Lowell, a resident of the Educators Coop, author, budding internet superstar, and all around great guy just posted this video Re:21st Century Learners on youtube.

I love this video Nathan, you have given us a lot to think about here. To learn more about Nathan's work you may want to start with Quarter Share. It is the first audio book in a series and can be downloaded for free. Actually you can download all of the books from the site...See yall at SXSW!joe

The island of Sophia in Second Life now features an immersive depiction of the flight deck of the NASA Space Shuttle (actually, it's the high fidelity mockup at Johnson Space center in Houston). This is a visual representation only - the controls don't work - but it is a compelling effect. The display uses a Virtual Reality Room (VRR), an immersive, photo-realistic environment developed through a partnership between the New Media Consortium (NMC), the Info Island Archipelago, the Commonwealth Islands for not-for-profits, and Stephane Desnault (aka Stephane Zugzwang in SL).

Rice University has undertaken an initiative to start using the things that their students are already using.  Students indicated that they don't use email (email is for old people).  They use their social networking tools.  Watch this video.

Comments from the audience:

In this 31 minute podcast we feature a conversation from the ELI 2008 Annual Meeting. The topic is Second Life and virtual worlds. How can virtual world participation help students become active learners? How can instructors approach virtual worlds with an eye toward their own curriculum. Are there any privacy or safety issues that must be breached in getting your students on Second Life? Particpants in this discussion include:

On this podcast we feature a plenary session from the ELI 2008 Annual Meeting. The presenter is Sarah Smith Robbins, PhD Candidate, Ball State University, with a topic entitled, "Virtual Worlds as Web 2.0 Learning Spaces".

Virtual worlds such as Second Life offer powerful teaching and learning opportunities by integrating participatory, social, and immersive media for student-centered learning. Learn about Second Life, its use as a learning space, and its predictive role in the future of learning.

 

The full program is now available for the ELI 2008 Spring Focus Session, "Real-World and Technology Rich: Learning by Doing, Learning in Context," being held March 18–19 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Register by February 19 to save money with low, early-bird rates.

Some of the featured sessions and speakers will include: