|
PLEASE NOTE: Hyperlinks
to some resources may take you outside of this collection and you will need
to use
the "back" button on your
browser to navigate back..
History of Ohio University's Second Life Campus
The adventure into Second Life has been exciting and full of educational
advances. The
Ohio University Second Life Campus History page contains information
about how Ohio University came to be in Second Life.
Unbounded - Exploring the Potential of Technology Based Learning
Ohio University Without Boundaries: “Unbounded” is a space to share
perspectives on innovative technology-based learning and best practices.
[
Places to See
On the Ohio University Campus in Second Life, there are many astounding
locations. Ranging from beautiful buildings, fun and educational games, to
true works of art; there is plenty to see. The
Ohio University Second Life Campus Places To See page details some of
the best parts of the OU Campus.
[]
Stories about the Ohio University Second Life Campus
- March 2007, "A
Second Life for Middle School Science," T.H.E Journal.
- 2/26/2007 “Virtual
worlds an outlet for learning, teaching,” Columbus Dispatch.
- 2/21/2007 Linda L. Briggs, "Ohio
University Opens Virtual Doors," Campus Technology.
- 2/2/2007, "Education
meets virtual reality: Be anyone, do anything -- and learn in the process,"
Ohio University Outlook.
- 1/29/2007, "Virtual-reality
software creates parallel campus, enhances education," Athens News.
- A video by Christopher Keesey
http://youtube.com/watch?v=aFuNFRie8wA
Back to top
[]
Ohio University Second Life Campus Community Standards
[]
Designing Effective Learning Environment in Second Life
Figure 1. Virtual structures that resemble real-world buildings on
Ohio University campus.
Three Ohio University units are designing a Second Life campus currently
consisting of three virtual islands, including the “OHIO Outreach” and “Ohio
University” sims on the Main Grid, and the “Ohio STEAM” sim on the Teen
Grid. The blueprint was based around how best to serve traditional college
students, adult and distance learners, high school students, and middle
school students in a convenient and engaging fashion that would allow for
both synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences. Our goal is to
provide an attractive and engaging metaphor for Ohio University's beautiful
real-world campus and extend Ohio University's mission into the synthetic
world in Second Life.
On our Second Life campus, we are building both virtual buildings that
resemble well-known brick-and-mortar buildings on Ohio University campus
(examples in Figure 1) and futuristic virtual structures that may not even
observe physical constraints of real-world buildings (examples in Figure 2).
The former helps establish the identity of the Ohio University virtual
environment, which local students can easily relate to because they can see
the familiar landmark buildings. The latter allows our sims to be more
functional and easier to navigate and manipulate because they were designed
with the limitations of Second Life in mind.
Figure 2. A welcome center that does not resemble any real-world
buildings on Ohio University campus. Back to
top
We are currently completing the construction of the virtual structures on
our sims. Next, we will add both general-purpose teaching aids such as
voting and survey tools and course-specific learning objects designed for
particular course subjects to the Ohio University virtual campus. We believe
that ultimately, it is the effectiveness and appeals of these teaching and
learning tools that will bring instructors and students back to visit our
virtual campus again and again.
We currently plan to open our Main Grid sims for public visit by the
beginning of year 2007. The status of the Ohio University sims of 11/28/2006
is shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3. Ohio University sims in 2006.
Figure 4. Ohio University sims as of March 26, 2007. (The seven sims
with names that start with "Ohio".)
Back to top |
