May 10, 2007

New Workshop: Second Life

Learning and Teaching in Second Life

This workshop and series of related “open lab” times are presented by the Center as a means of introducing attendees to the possibilities of Second Life as they pertain to the classroom.

The workshop will consist of two distinct phases – the “official” workshop, presented by guest speaker Anthony Fontana, and the “open lab” times, where Center staff will be available to assist you in more personal and direct explorations of the environment of Second Life.

Attendees will be introduced to various pedagogical tools and resources as related to Second Life – as well as guided through the practical steps of creating a free account, using the interface, and finally exploring resources located entirely within Second Life.

Second Life is a popular persistent online virtual “world” where users from around the globe can explore digital environments and interact with other users. More and more institutions of higher education are using Second Life to create unique virtual learning experiences. The technologies powering Second Life are similar to those that power various popular computer games, but are directed to a purpose more in line with so-called “Web 2.0” applications – essentially focusing on communities of users and user-generated content within the virtual spaces. Second Life has currently surpassed six million registered users, and has in excess of forty thousand users logged in at any given time.

Workshop times include:

* Anthony Fontana - Presentation on Second Life, Thursday, May 24th, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.
* Open Lab, Thursday, May 24th, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
* Open Lab, Friday, May 25th, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
* Open Lab, Friday, May 25th, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

To register for these workshops visit our CTLT Workshop page and sign-up.



Have you ever used Second Life before? If so, how? What positive possibilities could online interactive classes create in the future?
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