ERIC Number: EJ846568
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1962
EISSN: N/A
The Virtual Worlds in Education Conference: Lessons Learned from Conducting an International, Peer-Reviewed Conference within Second Life
Brown, Abbie; Hodge, Elizabeth; Kisling, Eric; Collins, Sharon
Educational Technology, v49 n3 p33-36 May-Jun 2009
East Carolina University recently hosted the first Virtual Worlds in Education Conference, a meeting held entirely in Second Life. The conference provided 135 faculty and administrators from around the world the ability to communicate and share their experiences on teaching, learning, and technology support in an online, multi-user virtual environment (MUVE). The MUVE Second Life has attracted a great deal of attention from educators and the press recently (Ananthaswamy, 2007; Berge, 2008; Brown & Green, in press; Bugeja, 2007; Galagan, 2008). East Carolina University (ECU) has maintained a virtual campus presence in Second Life since late 2007. The university leases several "islands" from the New Media Consortium. The university's Division of Academic and Student Affairs (2009) runs Academic Outreach Technology Services (AOTS), which has as one of its goals to "provide stable synchronous and asynchronous learning platforms for ECU faculty and students." The AOTS office oversees the development and maintenance of an in-world campus complete with replicas of real-life ECU buildings as well as more fanciful creations, including a full-size, floating pirate ship. Academic Outreach employs a number of student workers to build and maintain the virtual campus. A full-time staff member with Academic Outreach is responsible for ECU's Second Life activity, which includes providing support and development opportunities for faculty.
Descriptors: Conferences (Gatherings), Peer Evaluation, College Administration, Program Development, Web Sites, Educational Technology, Computer Uses in Education, Distance Education, Internet, Computer Mediated Communication, Teleconferencing, Computer Simulation, Conference Papers
Educational Technology Publications. 700 Palisade Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632-0564. Tel: 800-952-2665; Web site: http://www.bookstoread.com/etp
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A