SECOND LIFE IN HIGHER EDUCATION Sarah “Intellagirl” Robbins Presentation for Houghton Mifflin July 24, 2007

A Little About Me 97: BA in Literature ‘ 99-’02: Macmillan/Que ‘ 03: MA in Literature Now: PhD Candidate in Rhetoric and Writing Director of Emerging Technologies at MediaSauce.com

97: BA in Literature

‘ 99-’02: Macmillan/Que

‘ 03: MA in Literature

Now: PhD Candidate

in Rhetoric and Writing

Director of Emerging

Technologies at MediaSauce.com

MediaSauce.com Internal and External Digital Communication and Marketing Strategist

Understanding Virtual Environment Communication Mechanics: A Developing Taxonomy of Digital Spaces

10 Qualities of Virtual Environments that Impact Communication

Access and Relationship to Others Limited Access Freer Access Limited Relationships Freer Relationships

THE CURRENT SITUATION

Who are our STUDENTS ? Where do they LIVE ? How do they LEARN outside the classroom?

89% USE EMAIL

67% GET NEWS ONLINE

70% RESEARCH FOR SCHOOL ONLINE

64% SEND IMs

74% WATCH VIDEOS ONLINE

43% PLAY ONLINE GAMES

56% DOWNLOAD MUSIC

91% INTERNET SEARCH FOR ANSWERS

52% READ BLOGS

60% SEND/RECEIVE TEXT MESSAGES

57% SEARCHED FOR INFO ABOUT COLLEGE

Wikipedia Traditional Encyclopedia

WHERE WE TEACH THEM

HOW WE DELIVER INFORMATION

LET’S COMPARE

VS.

VS.

A POSSIBLE SOLUTION

What is Second Life? M ulti U ser V irtual E nvironment

History of Second Life April ‘03 : Second Life founded by Linden Lab, SF CA June ‘03 : Second Life goes live March ‘06 : Intellagirl Tully is born October ‘06 : Second Life reaches 1 million January ‘06 : Second Life reaches 2 million

Gartner’s Hype Cycle changes when applied to Second Life education Start here? Start here? Start here?

Components of Second Life

Infinitely Adjustable Avatars

The Map

Chat Instant Messaging Inventory Friends List MiniMap Motion Controls Camera Controls Building Tools Chat Window Media Controls

LEARNING METHODS IN SECOND LIFE

ENCOURAGING SPECIFIC BEHAVIORS

PLAYING A ROLE

CHANGING ROLES IN DRAMATIC WAYS

DISORIENTATION

INTERACTING WITH FANTASY

CRITIQUE AND PARODY

WHAT SUBJECTS ARE SUITABLE TO SECOND LIFE?

Art

Biology UK National Physics Lab – Color Blindness

UK National Physics Lab – Color Blindness

Business

Architecture

Communication CMC Verbal and NonVerbal Small Group Interpersonal

CMC

Verbal and NonVerbal

Small Group

Interpersonal

Education GlobalKids.org

GlobalKids.org

English

Apparel Design

Geography: Climatology, Tourism

History Roma

Roma

Journalism

Modern Languages

Physics

Political Science

Psychology UC Davis Schizophrenia Simulator

UC Davis Schizophrenia Simulator

Sociology

Theatre/Literature New Globe Theatre

New Globe Theatre

Literature Literature Alive’s Inferno

Literature Alive’s Inferno

Implications Appeal to today’s student Collaboration between campuses, disciplines, students/nonstudents Distributed learning Authenticity Seamless integration from school to work

Appeal to today’s student

Collaboration between campuses, disciplines, students/nonstudents

Distributed learning

Authenticity

Seamless integration from school to work

What SL Educators Need Reliable content A trusted guide Safe spaces Understanding of SL in context of other technologies

Reliable content

A trusted guide

Safe spaces

Understanding of SL in context of other technologies