University purchases virtual island through grant

People, schools and work groups are all creating their own virtual islands on Second Life, a program where not only co-workers and students can visit, but people from all over the world can network, attend concerts and classes. Recently, the University acquired its own Second Life island.

Even though the world is virtual and the land is only net space, building an island on Second Life is not cheap. The University received a sizable grant from Verizon's Thinkfinity fund with a primary goal to get the University on the Second Life map. Still in the building phase, engineering students and techno-savvy faculty are in the works of creating an island for the University in a virtual world called Second Life.

Beth Gordon Klingner, the assistant dean for Instructional Technology at the Pleasantville campus, is very excited to be working on Second Life. Just as her job title entails, she assists faculty and students in their goal to use technology in teaching and learning. Anything from online courses to research and power point presentations aren't off limits to her. More importantly, Klingner is working on ways to bring the University up to speed with the Web 2.0 era. Using blogs, youtube and even facebook to enhance the teaching and learning process, she feels Second Life is a great way to not only add a new and creative component to online classes but to spread the word about the University and it's move to the technology the Web offers.

The process of building an island isn't so simple. There are two general committees involved with Second Life. The first of the two is a planning and visions committee. These are the people that are looking at the options we have with Second Life. Ideas being tossed around include online classes, research, an outreach to prospective students and a place for alumni to congregate.

The second committee is dedicated to the actual construction of the island.

"The island is really taking shape," Klingner said. "One Pace Plaza looks just like it. With the design on the front and everything."

The students, faculty and staff are working hard on making the best possible result but also keeping it light and fun. "We were toying around with the idea of having a slide connect from one campus to the other," professor and Second Life committee member Will Pappenheimer said.

Klingner insists that Second Life was and is still a learning process for her. "At first I explored Second Life on my own. I went to Orientation Island and I learned how to fly and drive. I realized that this could be a great tool for the University." She also likes that no two days on Second Life are the same and that there's always something to do or explore.

But the ideas and visions for students here is endless. Economics majors can do research and learn the values of the Linden Dollar (L$) - Second Life's general source of currency. Psychology majors can meet new people and talk to them about their experiences and how it relates to Second Life. Art majors can go behind the scenes making their own buildings or putting their newest creations in a digital gallery. Business majors can follow the trends of the Second Life marketplace and marketing majors can learn how it all works.

Joining with friends makes the experience even better because you can explore together and find fun and interesting things to do. Meet new people and network, in real time, but, as always, be careful - it is the Internet after all. Anyone interested in Second Life can visit secondlife.com and create an account, free of charge.