Finally got to read Jeff’s post Second Life Speaks – Imagine the POTENTIAL! at EduTechie.com. In the post are a few imagine with me segment of how Second Life could be added into a course/learning experience.
It sparked an idea – what about an art museum that a faculty member/student could populate with images from the campus digital assets management program (we use Luna) but that is another idea/day and requires resources not at my disposal.
Towards the end of the post there is mention of the UNC island(that is being built). As I was curious, I jump on SL and teleported to the island.
This is what I found.
A campus in development. The features emulating the ‘real’ campus. Does this make it easier for students/staff to merge the real and virtual worlds?
At the center of the current campus there is a map and welcome billboard. The welcome statement conveys this space as one of community, creativity, and idea exchange.
On closer inspection of the map it looks like the map for visitors from the UNC web site. I find that funny. Not sure why as using this real world artifact makes sense. Perhaps the funniness of it comes from my discomfort with intersections of my real life and my experiences in a virtual world.
The buildings are still in progress. This one has a blue print with photos of the real world image. I assume to assist in the development.
The history of the University spans over 200 years (the first building’s cornerstone was laid in 1793). I wonder will the second life campus be a corner stone of the next 200 years or just an interesting experiment?
