Western management information systems professor Steve Ross as he appears in real life and as his digital doppleganger, Professor Meredith, in SecondLife.
Photo by Matt Boyer
Imagine a place where anyone can run a business, own an island, talk with people from more than 100 countries and fly from place to place.
Impossible? Not in “Second Life,” a 3-D virtual world growing every day as its users think of new and innovative ways to build their online world around them.
In Second Life, dance clubs, filmmakers’ guilds and museums allow the users to connect with each other and make new friends. To navigate Second Life, users must first create a 3-D character called an avatar. After creating an avatar, users are free to travel to any public place they wish within the world.
At Western, professors and staff at the Academic Technology and User Services (ATUS) have been discussing the prospect of using Second Life as a place to bring people together online for lectures and perhaps entire classes.
John Farquhar, manager of instructional development and multimedia at ATUS, said he has been working on measuring the level of interest in using Second Life in the classroom at Western.
“Right now, we’re not doing much but bringing students and faculty together to talk about it,” Farquhar said.
Farquhar said he has made contacts within multiple departments at Western, including the business and marketing departments, about integrating Second Life into the curriculum.
Management Information Systems (MIS) professor Steve Ross said he joined “Second Life” in October after attending a conference with other MIS professors.
Ross said he has been busy learning how to create content in the virtual world.
“Second Life is a unique programming environment,” Ross said. “People develop avatars, and these have scripted behaviors such as waving, hugging, and other things. Making an avatar behave is a great challenge.”
Many colleges and universities have already developed Second Life campuses and classrooms. Pictured: Princeton University.
Once a user gets comfortable with the basics, such as chatting with other users, difficult tasks can be undertaken, such as designing the inside of a personal home or creating products to sell in the marketplace, Ross said.
In the field of education, Ross said he sees a number of potential uses for “Second Life” in the future.
“Marketing students can study how goods and services are marketed in Second Life,” Ross said. “Organizational behavior and psychology students can study the ways persons interact – and how the fantasy of Second Life permits behaviors that are very rare in real life.”
Until enough of the Western population is familiar with Second Life, ATUS applications specialists like David Hamiter and Kevin Dixey said they are working on ideas about integrating Second Life into Western’s education. Hamiter said one idea mentioned in an ATUS meeting in Fall 2007 was possibly hosting part of Western’s upcoming technology exposition within Second Life.
When it comes to creating an event space within Second Life, Hamiter said users need to ask themselves if a Second Life meeting is appropriate for what’s trying to get accomplished. Between now and the technology exposition next month, Dixey and Hamiter will work on analyzing the possibility of hosting part of the technology exposition within Second Life, and would publicize the event well in advance, Dixey said.
Hamiter and Dixey believe the path to making a 3-D virtual world like Second Life an integral part of education is definitely a long one.
According to the Second Life Web site, there’s a coding language to learn, it costs money to buy land within the world and there is a monthly fee for an account that allows you to purchase land. Until then, Dixey said those who are new to Second Life have to take comfort with what they can achieve in the meantime. “At least I have a chainmail vest,” Dixey said of his avatar on Second Life. “That’s what I’m proud of.”
John Farquhar, in the Instructional Development and Multimedia Department at ATUS, is looking for Western students and staff who might be interested in joining a focus group about using Second Life on our campus. For more information call John Farquhar at (360) 650-6538.
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