San Jose State Library Celebrates Opening in Virtual World
May 11, 2007
Never mind that the celebration will exist only digitally. San Jose State University's School of Library and Information Science will put on a big show for the May 16 opening of its campus in Second Life, an online virtual world. (the rest)
Universities register for virtual future
Students may soon meet with professors once a week and then use simulations, virtual worlds and downloads to complete coursework.
Stefanie Olsen
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
February 7, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO--If you want to know what higher education will look like in a few years, you might ask Charles Reed, chancellor of the largest four-year university system in the United States.As head of the California State University system--with 23 campuses, 46,000 employees and more than 400,000 students--Reed says he's worried about classroom space in the future because of, among other reasons, expanding enrollment.
Consequently, Reed said he envisions students becoming more like telecommuters. They might meet with faculty and peers one day a week on campus, and then use simulations, virtual worlds and downloaded information the rest of the week to complete coursework. (the rest)
"In the chapter I attempt to delineate between different types of digital environments in which communication/composition can happen. In effect, what I’m doing is laying out the qualities that an instructor may be looking for in an online environment for a specific educational goal. Because the audience is largely readers who have never explored such environments, I’m hoping to lay out the most important differences to help light the way to informed pedagogical decisions."It does a very good job of doing this, and includes a table that makes it even clearer. The post is here.
Second Life' develops education followingOther good related articles at eSchool News online:
Virtual world being used by some educators and youth groups for teaching, socialization
By Justin Appel, Assistant Editor
January 1, 2007—An online virtual world that has become one of the web's most popular activities is also becoming an increasingly popular venue for teaching and socialization among educators and youth organizations. (The rest here, free registration required to read past the first page)
Library embraces online virtual community as tool for reaching local teensBy Taylor Atkins
Published Tuesday, January 16, 2007
The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library no longer has just one branch.
The organization has opened up a new location at the coordinates 24, 157, 24 in Cybrary City, a growing community for libraries in Second Life, an online virtual world. (the rest)
This library is not just sticking a toe in to test the water; they have opened a virtual branch, a building in Cybrary City and they have purchased an island on the teen grid. Why do both? The main Second Life grid, where the Cybrary City and the InfoIslands are hosted are rated "Mature". Their teen patrons cannot (truthfully) have accounts there. So Second Life has a separate teen grid rated PG. Nudity, for instance, is not allowed there, and adults over 18 cannot (truthfully) have an account or access the grid without a background check (so educators and librarians can be there to provide programs and services).
The island, named Oz, is almost ready to open. The library has prepared two very interesting pilot projects, described in a post at InfoIsland.org. The first will teach a group of upperclassmen from Hope Academy to use SL, and then set them loose to create a world on the island. The second project will open the island to local teens to create content based on their favorite books.
