Second Life at Kirkwood

Virtual worlds are springing up on the Internet and educators have been quick to see some educational applications. Second Life is one such virtual world. Kirkwood has signed up for space with Second Life to explore its learning and teaching potential. Over the Summer, we were working on a little landscaping and building - now the space is open to the general public. I expect it will be changing as projects and plans continue to grow.


You experience the virtual world as an avatar - a digital representation of yourself. Above is Kirkwood Alter (styled to resemble Samuel J. Kirkwood) posing in front of an informational kiosk. With the arrow keys on your keyboard, you can control the movement of your avatar (avatars can fly too!). Movement is fairly simple, but interaction is where the magic happens.

How might you use SL to learn:

• Explore locations with specific learning content (aerospace museum, genome island)
• Join groups focused on special interests (poetry, literature, animation)
• Practice a second language with native speakers
• Collaborate on a project in the virtual environment
  
• Enhance a class project with building and scripting objects in SL
• Find a tutor in SL
• Student groups meeting in SL
• Attend a lecture in SL
• Host a lecture!
  

If you are already signed up in Second Life, here is a SLURL to take you to the Kirkwood Island. Let us know if you have ideas.