Nursing Education in 3D—
Leveraging Virtual Worlds
and Immersive Learning
Simulations
John Miller and Cathy Walker
TESC SON Lectureship
May 15, 2009

World Interaction
1. Second Life Evergreen Island
2. Live virtual world interaction with people
in the US as well as worldwide.
3. 70,000 simultaneous users
4. 1.4 million accounts logins last 60 days
5. Music, the arts, science, literature,
corporate, non-profit, higher education
Live demonstration in 3D virtual world

Create, own, buy objects.
1. Linden currency is real money but
L1000=$4. Most things are cheaper
than real life (RL).
2. Modify image or avatar.
3. Personalize avatar
4. Shopping for clothes, shapes, skin, hair,
animations, houses, etc
5. Basic building by most avatars
6. Complex building by skilled builders,
scriptors, and animators

Medical support groups
1. Many medical support groups in
Second Life (VirtualAbility.org)
2. Students and medical professionals can
interact and contribute.
Live demonstration in 3D virtual world

Patient Simulation
1. Interactive objects for assessments,
medications and other treatments
2. Single or group
3. Programmed robot avatar as patient
4. Training for students and faculty
5. Recorded interactions
6. Demonstration mode for faculty
7. Real time communication
Live demonstration in 3D virtual world

Educational Collaboration
1. International Society for Technology in
Education (ISTE)
2. Community Colleges in Second Life
Live demonstration in 3D virtual world

Non-profit groups
1. Virtual Ability
2. American Cancer Society
3. Alliance Library System
Live demonstration in 3D virtual world

What others are doing.
Virtual Worlds
1. Forterra
2. BreakAway
3. Virtual Heroes, Zero Hour, Healthcare
4. RealXtend
Virtual demonstration

Future Trends
1. Education
2. Healthcare
3. Business
4. Arts
5. Life

Contact
MUVErs, LLC: http://muvers.org
1. Presentation slides
2. Video links
3. Blog links
4. Email
5. Skype, ooVoo
6. Second Life avatars
John Miller, Co-founder of MUVErs and nursing faculty at
Tacoma Community College, Tacoma, WA USA, http://www.
tacomacc.edu/home/jmiller/index.htm
Cathy Walker, Co-founder of MUVErs, faculty and technology
director, St. Vincent de Paul, Rogers, AR USA