SECOND LIFE IN TOWSON

Purpose

Provide an active learning environment in Towson Innovation Lab in Second Life, more and more instructors use Second Life effectively in their teaching area and more students use Second Life in their learning.

SL(SECOND LIFE) IN EDUCATION

SL Teen Grid for k-12 Schools

(Teenager are having classes in Second Life)

SL for foreign language learning

(Confucius College in Michigan State

University for Chinese Learners)

SECOND LIFE IN TOWSON

1) Towson Innovation Lab in SL was revealed in February, 2009.

2) OTS ( Office of Technology Service) in Towson organize work shops of SL for faculty, staffs and students

3) Towson Innovation Lab Second Life, a virtual social network, is being used by some professors in Towson to expand the classroom environment for their students.

4) Towson faculty members Jan Baum (ART), James Braman (COSC), and Bridget Sullivan (ART) meet with students Monday night to chat about Second Life, share SL tips and tricks, and tour a couple of amazing places in-world.

5) More and more professors also hold office hours in Towson Innovation Lab.

Professor Bridget Sullivan’s Avatar in Second Life

A work shop organized by OTS In Towson, students were building objects

Towson Innovation Lab

A professor in Art School in Towson was having a class in SL

Costs and Technical Problems

There is no cost to register in Second Life and download Second Life Software.

Computers need to have certain video read ability to make Second Life operate.

There are a two computer labs in Towson where SL software have been installed.

Residents do need to spend money to buy certain things and purchase land.

Many things are free in Second Life. You need to search by yourself.

Advantages of SL in teaching

Self constructed environment Diverse interaction and communication Provide opportunities for directed activities in

teaching Opportunities to open to outside of the world.

Possible Disadvantages Technical problems ( computers have to have

certain abilities) Sex expression and harassment

Time Frame for Development

Year 1: OTS has workshops of SL for faculty, staff and students. A few instructors begin to use SL in teaching and hold

office hours in Towson Innovation Lab in SL Install Second Life software in two or three labs

Year 2: Most of the staff and faculty have been trained in some

work shops of SL in OTS Integrate Second Life into more subject areas,

especially foreign language program, computer science and art .

Year 3: Some meetings are seminars in Towson are held in

Towson Innovation Lab. SL software is installed in most of computer in

computer rooms and tech centers in Towson

The Five Main Steps of the Innovation-Decision Process in SL in Towson According to Roger’s Innovation Theory

1)  Knowledge OTS holds workshops about how SL functions. Individual students

and teachers get around in SL until they fill comfortable. 2)  Persuasion

The opinion leaders and OTS in Towson will introduce SL to more instructors and students . Many of them will have a favorable

attitude towards SL when they realize the advantages of SL.3)  Decision

The decision-makers of relative branches will make decisions to adopt

SL. 4)  Implementation

The decision-makers of relative branches will implement their plans about SL .5)  Confirmation

The decision-makers of relative branches will reinforce the implementation of their plan.

Opinion Leaders

Staff of OTS LaTonya Dyer: OTS instructional design

technologist and trainer Towson faculty members Jan Baum (ART), James

Braman (COSC), and Bridget Sullivan (ART) meet with students Monday night to chat about Second Life and who use SL in teaching

Other faculty, staff and students who are very interested in SL and who have used SL in learning or teaching

Reference

Rogers, E. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th edition). New York: Free Press.

http://towsonusecondlife.blogspot.com/ www.secondlife.com http://sl.nmc.org/