Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
(http://www.nmc.org/). One of the projects
of NMC is The NMC Campus in Second
Life, which has evolved into the largest
educational presence in that virtual world,
and it is occupying the virtual equivalent of
more than 2000 acres in SL. The NMC has
designed a space within Second Life ex-
pressly to support collaboration, learning,
insightful interaction, and experimenta-
tion—and to encourage exploration of the
potential of virtual environments. Some in-
structors in SL team in one university told
us that it is a very good deal to lease an
island for campus from NMC for a certain
period of time, which saves a lot of time
and energy. Then the university can decide
whether to buy the campus or not.
obtained a teaching innovation grant from the
university, which enabled them to lease the island
from the NMC. Then the NMC built the center
building for them.
•
Design courses.
The most complicated
and time consuming part is to design
courses in SL. As we synthesized earlier,
there are different ways to use SL in teach-
ing. An easy way to start with SL might be
to use it as a communication tool. One of
the instructors we interviewed first asked
the students to come to virtual office hours
in SL. Then she held workshops where she
would gather with the students in SL, and
led them to build particular projects. As
stated earlier, highly constructivist instruc-
tional models are essential while teaching
in SL and there are various ways to use SL
besides as a professional tool in computer
and art major. For example, a hybrid in-
structional models that are integrated with
face-to-face class and other asynchronous
online systems can address different kinds
of problems or different aspects of the
same problems more effectively.
Linden Lab, the company that started Second
Life, also works with education organizations and
support them to become familiar with the benefits
of virtual worlds, connect them with educational
peers who are active in Second Life, and show-
case their projects in SL (www.secondlife.com).
For individual teachers, besides seeking support
or possible grants from organizations such as
NMC and Second Life, the branches that provide
technical supports for integrating technology into
teaching on campus are always good places to go,
such as virtual college and center for integration
technology into teaching. In Towson University,
a specialist in Second Life at CITA works with
faculty members to design and develop curriculum
and courses, and implement teaching and learning
strategies in SL. Similar support might be avail-
able on your campus, too.
For individuals who try to teach in SL or even
start a campus for the university, it is also practi-
cal to get grants from your own university. In our
study, the instructor who started SL campus first
learned about SL at a conference. She thought
it was very interesting. Then she met a group of
people who shared the same interest, wrote and
•
Practical tips on using SL in teaching.
The following are some practical tips for
faculty to start teaching in SL:
◦
Be aware of technical problems. One
of the key issues with the use of SL in
teaching is technical problem. Most
modern computers can run most
virtual worlds, such as Second Life.
However, some laptops without dedi-
cated graphic cards have trouble with
Second Life, which is a more graphi-
cally intense world. It is important to
make sure the computer is adequately
equipped to run SL smoothly.
◦
Be aware of your virtual appearance
and presence in SL. Just like in the
real world, your presence in SL plays
an important role, too. It is impor-
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