UT Arlington in Second Life: Past, Present, Future
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.
4. 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
13. 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…
16. 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
17. 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
18. 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
19. 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?
20. 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: Razitra Artizar (Raz)
www.slideshare.net/razitra
