The document outlines the use of the virtual world Second Life for educational purposes, emphasizing its immersive environments and potential for enhancing collaborative and interactive learning experiences. It details vocabulary associated with Second Life, administrative and procedural guidelines for creating and managing virtual islands, and strategies for effective content delivery. Additionally, it highlights virtual field trip opportunities and provides resources for further exploration of virtual worlds in higher education.

1. Second Life for Administrators Dr. Andrew Jones , Vice Chancellor for Educational Affairs Dallas County Community College District Patti Jennings , Marketing Executive Dallas County Community College District Erin Jennings , Instructional Design Assistant The University of Texas at Dallas eLearning – February 17-19, 2008 Landscape – Nighthawks24

2. Overview Overview What is Second Life? Why explore virtual worlds? Vocabulary Administrative Issues Content Delivery Pedagogy Virtual Field Trips Resources Capitol Hill Island – U2Katrina

3. What is Second Life? MUVE Multi-User Virtual Environment www.secondlife.com “ Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents.” Second Life is NOT a game Main grid is for adults only (18+) Harvard’s Berkman Island – U2Katrina

4. The Horizon Report, 2007 Edition Campuses and businesses have established locations in these worlds Much like websites a few years ago Virtual locations will become more common and more mature as the trend continues. Time to Adoption: Two to Three Years Virtual Worlds Ohio State – U2Katrina

5. Why Second Life/Virtual Worlds Stimulates the mind to consider others ways of doing and knowing Helps creates no boundaries mindsets; provides a practical way of doing outside the box Depicts visible models of possibilities Because students will expect it NOAA’s Meteora Island – Sridgway

6. Allows for explorations in a safe environment Second Life lets you build customized environments Places user in totally immersive learning environments Second Health – Planet Video Why Second Life/Virtual Worlds

7. Why Second Life/Virtual Worlds Can devise collaborative models through highly interactive sim-models Mirrors interactive experience for millennial students Has unlimited promotional potential (limited by imagination) Virginia Tech Candlelight Vigil – U2Katrina Why Second Life/Virtual Worlds

8. Avatar: a virtual representation of a real person. You can design your avatar’s appearance to be whatever you want! Island: a virtual parcel of land in Second Life. Islands may be separated by many meters of ocean or grouped together to form larger areas. Vocabulary Sim (Simulation): a named region that makes up part of the Second Life world. UTD SOM – U2Katrina

9. Prims (Primitives): simple objects used as building blocks in Second Life. Sandbox: an area of a sim where all residents are given permission to build. Sandboxes can be set to return objects automatically after a specified period of time. Vocabulary UTD SOM - erinserenity

10. Griefing : the harassment of other Second Life residents through offensive actions, in violation of the SL community standards. Vocabulary Edwards Campaign HQ – U2Katrina

11. Procedures – Buying an Island Pitfall: Who owns the official avatar? Resource: Second Life: The Official Guide Set up a premium account and avatar Pick a location for your island Purchase the island DCCCD - erinserenity

12. Real Costs – Buying an Island Premium account subscription: $10/month Island: $980 (with educational discount) Maintenance: $150/month (with discount) First year total: $2,900 Subsequent years: $1,920 Pitfalls: terms of service, business procedures for monthly payments UTD SOM - erinserenity

13. Procedures - Development Select: steering committee project manager developer Develop: an island plan the island a project approval process Promote the island! UTD ArtTech – U2Katrina

14. Real Costs - Development Project manager Developer fees Pre-made objects and scripts Incidentals Pitfalls: time, learning curve Resource: Second Life Developers Group UTD SOM - erinserenity

15. Procedures – Island Management Training Administering rights Waivers and disclaimers Holding events Collecting data Pitfalls: security, hardware, griefing Resource: Second Life Educators (SLED) UTD SOM - erinserenity

16. Content Delivery – Don’ts Second Life is not an LMS Text is clunky No Flash No embedded HTML Pitfall: avatar limit (lag) UTD SOM - erinserenity

17. Pitfalls: chat radius, image types Resource: Creating Your World: The Official Guide to Advanced Content Creation for Second Life Content Delivery – Do’s Images and video Lectures and audio Text and voice chat Presentation slides Interactive simulations Harvard’s Berkman Island – U2Katrina

18. Pedagogy Constructivism and “discovery-based” learning: Active Facilitated Social International Space Station – U2Katrina

19. Pedagogy Discovery-based learning: Immersive Social Interactive Collaborative Virtual world activities: Virtual field trips Chat, voice chat, animations, video Simulations and learning objects Projects Morocco, Casablanca – U2Katrina

20. Virtual Field Trips: Science Biology Genome Island Heart Murmur Sim Virtual Hallucinations Chemistry Info Island Earth Sciences NOAA ( Meteora ) Svarga Technology Cisco Dell Island Spaceport Alpha InfoIsland – U2Katrina

21. Art UTD ArtTech Virtual Sistine Chapel Social Studies Morocco (Casablanca) Rome (Roma) Music Live concerts Virtual Field Trips: Humanities Sistine Chapel, Vassar – U2Katrina

22. Additional Resources For more information about virtual worlds and higher education, and to download a copy of this presentation, please visit our blog: www.higherworlds.blogspot.com And our wiki: www.higherworlds.wikispaces.com More resources: SimTeach wiki: www.simteach.org Sloog HUD for educators: http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/10/30/salamander-sloog-arrives-for-educators/ SL Browser: http://slbrowser.com/ Spaceport Alpha – U2Katrina

23. Contact Information Dr. Andrew Jones Avatar: DrAndu Jonesford Email: acjones@dcccd.edu Patti Jennings Avatars: Patti Lemuria / Patti Jennings Email: pjennings@dcccd.edu Erin Jennings Avatars: Serinity Gaea / Brianne Jennings Email: erin.jennings@utdallas.edu