Second Life, Presented at ELI Meetings

Critique_It is an online virtual classroom critique system originally developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Croquet and ported to Second Life. The critique is a rudimentary instructional methodology in the arts that can be applied to most other disciplines. Critique_It provides an environment for simulating authentic learning strategies and allowing the possibility for feedback from peers and experts from outside the campus.

Faculty, support staff, and student experiences of using Second Life in three business courses will be presented and compared. The results highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly of using Second Life for teaching and learning.

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.

To explore the potential of virtual worlds, Notre Dame faculty are developing demonstration projects and a white paper. This session will demonstrate the applications of Second Life and share opportunities and challenges presented by virtual worlds.

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.

The educational potential of Second Life is still emerging and for the majority of educators, even early adopters of technology, it is an entirely new domain. This session will describe the objectives, rationale, and outcomes of a pilot initiative in which we introduced faculty and instructional staff to Second Life.