Second Life and education

October 18th, 2007 by tim finin

The Chronicle of Higher Education published a Live Discussion on Getting an Academic Life in Second Life.

“Colleges around the world are opening virtual campuses in Second Life, a three-dimensional, colorful environment that can be accessed via a computer. One of those campuses is New Orleans Island, which was built by Merrill L. Johnson, an administrator at the University of New Orleans. What is the appeal of Second Life, and what kind of classes does the university hold there? Is Second Life a useful distance- education platform or just frivolous entertainment? Mr. Johnson will answer those and other questions.”

In the same theme, the Chronicle also has an article on Educators Get New Spot for Second Life Initiation.

“Realizing that Orientation Island doesn’t fit the needs of many educators, the New Media Consortium, a higher-education technology group, has unveiled its own orientation island for newbies. The place has a San Francisco ambiance, in homage to Linden Lab’s headquarters: An open-air market, the Golden Gate Bridge, and a trolley car are among the sights. Kinks remain to be worked out. But the island is more colorful and informative than Linden Lab’s version. Particularly helpful is the “Pier of Culture,” which discusses, among other things, griefers (disruptive avatars), machinima (video production in Second Life), and poseballs (objects that animate avatars who sit on them). Such wisdom usually takes many months for users to discover on their own.”

Posted in General |

Related posts:

• Introduction to Second Life, 1:00pm 10/16, ECS 023 @umbc
• CSI in Second Life
• Bank run on Ginko Financial signals Second Life economic crisis

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