SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
What’s Next for
Second Life
SUNY & SLN?
Alexandra M. Pickett
Associate Director, SUNY Learning Network
Avatar: Alejandra Subagja
Terry Keys
Director of Instructional Technologies
Monroe Community College
Avatar: Crash Thibaud
Larry Dugan
Coordinator of Learning Environments
Finger Lakes Community College
Avatar: Marcius Dowding
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
http://slurl.com/secondlife/SUNY%20Learning%20Network/128/128/0
SLN in SL...
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
Questions
SLN in SL...
3 specific areas of potential interest to Higher Ed, online teaching and
learning, and asynchronous learning network communities in general:
 How might institutions of Higher Education use VLEs
successfully/effectively for marketing, branding, recruitment, f2f and
online student services, retention purposes, alumni relations? How
and what are the successful and effective practices? How is it
currently being used by others?
 How might VR be used effectively to supplement, enhance, improve
both online and F2F teaching and learning? How and what are the
best practices? And specifically, can it be used to enhance online
teaching and social presences? How is it currently being used by
others?
 How might a VLE be used to promote a sense of \"class community\"
and social interaction to enhance the experiences of fully online
students? How and what are the best practices?
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
Institutional?
!
Demonstration:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/OHIO%20Outreach/150/126/26
 Marketing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFuNFRie8wA&f
1
 Student eature=related%
Services
 Alumni http://slurl.com/secondlife/Buffalo%20State/128/128
/0
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
Instruction?
!
Demonstration:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Finger%20Lakes%20I
2
Enhance sland/128/128/0
Instruction
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
Community?
!
Demonstration:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Monroe%20Community%20College/128/128/0
Provide
3
community 20+ institutions participating.
for online Weekly Meetings in SL .
students SUNY SL Group.
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
First Thoughts How can we support the SUNY Live!
Project beyond their grant?
 Establish a presence and facilitate collocation of/access to SUNY SL
properties.
 Build common resources and facilitate sharing.
 Provide areas, activities, and events in SL for SUNY institutions, staff,
faculty, and students.
 Collect, investigate, and synthesize best practices among virtual university
environments and in the VR teaching and learning community.
 Provide teaching and learning spaces for campuses, special
projects/programs, staff, faculty, and students and sandboxes for
experimentation and innovation.
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
How can we support the current
SUNY enthusiasm and work?
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
What’s next?
The proposal…
SUNY VRLive!
1
SUNY SL Student Commons and Learning
Center
2 SUNY SL Faculty Innovation Center
. ©A
3
lexandra M. PIckett
SUNY SL Plaza
. CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
Why? significance...
The
 Scope and scale...
 Serve as an incubator and proof of
concept…
 Will promote innovation, collaboration,
cooperation, and community across the
entire SUNY system.
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
Objectives
The goals...
 Support & extend the work of SUNY
Live!
 Continue to introduce SUNY to VLEs:
learning & social experiences.
 Adapt and incorporate SL into SLN -
knowledge, and support/service
mechanisms: SLN faculty training and
HD services.
 Provide incentives to extend current SL
initiatives and encourage participation.
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
Objectives
The goals...
 Develop system-wide capacity by training
faculty, instructional designers, and staff.
 Establish centralized support
roles/mechanisms to sustain the program.
 Build/coordinate common SUNY SL
resources, e.g., orientations, classrooms,
activities/events.
 Train/support faculty and instructional
designers as they enhance and deliver online
and traditional courses with SL activities.
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
Objectives
The goals...
 Study the effects of VR on the online &
traditional student & faculty experiences,
satisfaction, community, teaching/social
presence, and learning online.
 Collect/analyze data and report findings.
 Co-locate SL properties to develop an
organized consortia of SUNY presences in SL.
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
How? implementation...
The
 Provide incentives for participation for faculty and
ID staff (Result in developing institutional capacity
and a community of support professionals to
assist faculty beyond the scope of the grant. )
 Incentives for institutional participation (result in
collaboration and participation in a coordinated
effort. )
 Additional SL islands - to accommodate projected
volume of participants and activity.
 An instructional technologist (IT) - to provide
technical SL scripting and multimedia design
support & service necessary to build SL features
and functionality.
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
How? implementation...
The
 Coordination of SL events, activities, and the SL
docent and concierges.
 SL docent - an in-world role developed to assist
faculty and students in any programmatic or
instructional capacity.
 SL concierges - an in-world role that will be
developed to assist and support students, faculty,
visitors and any new SUNY SL residents with
orientations and general SL information.
 Research: program evaluation and data collection
and analysis.
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
Your
Thoughts?
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .

SUNY Learning Network Second Life: What’s next for SUNY and SLN?
Thank you!
Alexandra M. Pickett
alexandra.pickett@sln.suny.edu
SUNY Learning Network
http://slurl.com/secondlife/SUNY%20Learning%20Network/128/128/0
Avatar: Alejandra Subagja born January 2007
. ©A lexandra M. PIckett . CIT . 2008 .