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UT Arlington in Second Life - Past

November 2010 overview and update on the UT Arlington in Second Life project

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UT Arlington in Second Life - Past

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  1. UT Arlington in Second Life Past, Present, and Future University Library Committee-November 9, 2010 Sarah Jones, UT Arlington Library

  2. UTA in Second Life: The Backstory • University of Texas System grant: "Transforming Undergraduate Education“ -- http://tuelearningcommunity.com/ (July 2009-July 2010) pioneered by Dr. Leslie Jarmon, UT Austin • One year's funding for land for all campuses and health science centers • The first university system-wide initiative • Goal: Virtual Learning Community • Researchers, instructors, students, administrators, staff • Cost savings for travel • Environmental sustainability: travel, brick & mortar overhead • Addition to DE toolkit • Exploration of immersive environment for education

  3. Accomplishments • Facilities for meetings, classes, study groups, conferences, and exhibitions – see the UTA Island Directory • Interest meetings, Information Fair, Focus on Technology, New Maverick Orientation, Welcome Week Open House • Press coverage: The Shorthorn, The 33 News • Class activities: Nursing, English • FLOC exhibit on food sustainability • Website with info, tutorials, and resources / Facebook page & Twitter feed • College of Nursing Genomics Journal Club • Undergraduate advising for the Department of Sociology & Anthropology • UT System Undergraduate Conference • “The Value of Second Life to Nursing” continuing education workshop

  4. UT Arlington in Second Life

  5. Conference Room

  6. Open-air Classroom

  7. Academic Commons

  8. UT Arlington Conference Center

  9. Conference Center Exhibit Hall

  10. Places to relax

  11. Places to think

  12. Challenges • Challenges: • Technology – graphics card, processor speed, broadband internet • Acculturation – being represented as an avatar in a 3D, synchronous, shared online environment • Translation – pedagogy and research in a virtual world • But.. A view to the past…

  13. UTA Web Site, June 1997

  14. UTA Library Web Site, June 1997

  15. A View of the Past • Evolution of the UTA web presence over 15 years • Adoption of WebCT 10 years ago • UTA hosted blogs as a response to faculty using Blogger • The challenges of getting syllabi posted online • Even email until relatively recently • Student MavMail • Library paper overdue notices • Virtual Worlds – revisiting the web of the mid 1990s

  16. So, why Second Life? • Sense of Self • Sense of Place • Sense of Presence • Immersive, sensory experience • Synchronous, collaborative environment – more engaging than a web or video conference • Cost-effective alternative to travel, commuting, parking

  17. The Future • Year One: funded by the UT System, with support from the Library (1/2 of my time) • Year Two: funded jointly by the Office of the Provost, the Library, the College of Nursing and the College of Liberal Arts • Beyond? • Closer collaboration with other UT System schools to share space and resources • Exploration of companion platforms (rapid growth among educators, less expensive, but technical challenges behind the scenes) • Research into locally hosted compatible spaces

  18. The Future • Millions of kids, tweens and teens are currently using online social spaces and games • Already accustomed to being represented as an avatar • Already accustomed to the style of interacting, moving, and using an online 3D environment • Will we be ready when they get to college?

  19. UT Arlington in Second Life UTA SL website - www.uta.edu/secondlife • Follow on Facebook or Twitter or read postings on the site • Log in directly to UTA land Contact me: Sarah Jones - sjones@uta.edu University of Texas Arlington, Digital Library Services In SL: RazitraArtizar (Raz) www.slideshare.net/razitra

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