Learning Space Design and Second Life

Imagine designing a learning space where physics is not a barrier, or where weather, terrain, and daylight can be controlled. How about being able to change a learning space into something completely different with a mouse click? This session will look at the "Mildly Wild West" that is virtual environments.

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. Large numbers of colleges and universities—or, in some cases, individual departments or faculty—are active in Second Life, not only for academic purposes but also for campus visits, recruiting activities for prospective students, and fundraising. Second Life lets educators easily build and modify learning spaces to test how different strategies for a physical space affect learning, and a similar approach can be taken toward educational activities in those spaces.

The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning technologies. Each brief focuses on a single technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use these briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

McMaster University Libraries, one of Canada’s most innovative university libraries, is bringing together librarians, faculty, information technologists, and students in new and exciting ways. By focusing on emerging technologies, student success, and collaboration, the library is transforming from a "book warehouse" to the center for teaching and learning.

Do physical spaces differ fundamentally from virtual learning environments? The Center for Digital Media in Vancouver, B.C., is constructing a physical complex simultaneously with a virtual campus in Second Life. We will explore the results that arise from engaging prospective students in the "modding" (modification) of a virtual space with architectural implications for the physical structure.

From Diana G. Oblinger, ed., Learning Spaces
As we build the classrooms of the future that facilitate usability, engagement, collaboration, and learning, we would do well to remember what it was about learning environments that enchanted us and commit ourselves to preserving, restoring, and creating those experiences for our own students.