Cyber-island living
Virtual world providing educational outlet for students
BY LINDA EVANS
Editor, RichmondNow
Like its Richmond campus, the University's new island contains brick walkways, a gazebo and a Greek theater.
It also has a high-rise building, where dozens of faculty, staff and students regularly interact with international guests and view academic posters and covers of faculty-authored books. Island residents and visitors also can dance at nightclubs, dress up like animals or start a business.
The "island" isn't on any map. It exists in an Internet-based, virtual world known as Second Life. Developed by Linden Lab of San Francisco, Second Life has more than 7 million registered users, or "residents," with up to 40,000 online participants each day. Residents interact through three-dimensional characters, or avatars, they create and control.
"It's an engaging place for alternative means of communicating with one another," says Kevin Creamer, coordinator of academic technology services. It's his job to keep up with and explore new technology that can have a positive impact on teaching and learning. He's been in Second Life about a year and is responsible for purchasing Richmond's property and creating its island community. So far, he says, the University has made a modest investment to establish its Second Life presence.
UR island has some familiar structures, such as this gazebo.
Big companies, like Toyota and Coca-Cola, are investing millions of dollars and view the social media outlet as a virtual marketplace. Not only can residents buy and sell virtual items, such as clothes, for their avatars with "Linden dollars," (about 270 Lindens per U.S. dollar), but also they can purchase real items like cars and books.
Second Life, or "SL" as regulars call it, is not a game. Though it is possible for participants to create games in-world, Second Life itself has no goals or objectives, Creamer says.
He sees three educational uses of Second Life. First, it is a way to communicate that accommodates everything from instant messaging to large conferences, such as those put on by IBM to keep from flying employees around the world. Residents initially had to communicate by typing and reading messages, but voice was added over the summer.
SL also can be used for presentations, Creamer says. "We have added posters from the A&S symposium and covers from faculty books," which, he says, are clickable, transporting the user to the faculty member's Web site. Residents can view Power Point presentations and videos at some sites. Creamer has already added videos, podcasts and research papers to Richmond island.
Finally, "it's a place to be creative." Creamer thinks that creative outlets like 3-D art and video have a place in SL. For instance, how would a Shakespeare class be different if students built the Globe Theatre in Second Life, created costumes, produced a play and videotaped it? "The project would involve detailed readings and research," he says.
Creamer plans to lead SL discussions for interested faculty this fall, but one professor started using the virtual world in a class last semester.
Dr. Joe Essid, writing center director and English 103 coordinator, created an avatar, Ignatius Onomatopoeia, and helped his students do the same. They explored the virtual world and wrote about what they learned.
Ignatius Onomatopoeia models the leather jacket he purchased in Second Life.
"Second Life is going to change the real world," says Essid. "It's going to change our lives as profoundly as the Web changed how we use computers. I think we're here at the infancy of something."
Still, he and Creamer agree that students are not yet sold on Second Life. For college students, "technology is about being connected" to people they know. "They still prefer face-to-face communication or working in social-networking sites with an established group of friends." Adult learners are more open to online learning and virtual learning environments like Second Life, Creamer says.
Also, like the Internet, Second Life has a downside. "It is an extension or supplement to the Internet and has the same positive and negative potential. We are not telling students where to go or not go," says Creamer.
Still, for savvy users who stay away from potential Second Life hazards, the virtual world can be a place to learn and build a network of friends. "Community is the focus," says Essid. "It's not a competitive place."
Residents are required to act within SL's guidelines or face possible suspension or expulsion. Essid made sure his students knew the rules: intolerance, harassment, assault, disclosure (of real life information), indecency in public areas and disturbing the peace are not tolerated in SL.
Essid, who spends about four hours a week in Second Life, also enjoys having fun with his SL experience. He invited a second avatar named Pappy Enoch, a moonshiner and backwoods trickster who likes to fish, to live in a shack on UR island. Pappy hosted a barn dance on the island over the summer and describes his in-world experiences along with Onomatopoeia in a blog Essid created at http://slbeat.mytimesdispatch.com/.
Essid and Creamer agree that SL will continue to evolve. "I still want to see what's possible with refining Second Life," Creamer says.
"We need to let this new technology free and let the purpose follow," says Essid.
For more information on Second Life, see www.secondlife.com.