Roadrunner Island - (l to r) Strat Inshan (Shawn McNary), Ravenmoon Jannings (Chris Jennings), and Mossy Darkstone (Lisa Ortiz).
Since 2007, more than 25 courses have been taught at the College using Second Life, the Web-based multi-user 3D virtual world first released in 2003 by Linden Lab. The technology offers all the affinities of College life, according to Shawn McNary, the 3D builder and scripter for Metro State’s Second Life program, “Roadrunner Island.”
“You can build anything you want on Second Life - clothes, dance clubs, cafes, and language groups,” says McNary, an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Technical Communication and Media Production. He and his fellow faculty, Assistant Professor Christopher Jennings and Associate Professor Lisa Ortiz, have taught classes using Second Life and serve on the Roadrunner Island Steering Committee.
Metro State is among hundreds of higher education institutions across the globe using Second Life to enhance student learning experiences, each in their own unique way.
Psychology faculty at the University of Washington used Second Life to recreate a number of real-life work environments in which test subjects were monitored for their response to different elements of their surroundings, saving time and money. Faculty at Yale University used the technology to create a virtual field trip to a paper mill -- illustratating industrial production processes in the real world. These mills can be both dangerous and difficult to access in reality.
Metro State’s Jennings notes that many colleges and universities have considered Second Life as a backup plan for classes during the H1N1 flu epidemic.
According to Myron Anderson, interim associate to the president for diversity and assistant professor of educational technology, the growing trend shows that “there is a movement where the academy is trying to help connect infrastructure because they are seeing benefits.”
Anderson chairs the Roadrunner Island Steering Committee, which is open to more members wanting to be involved in the continued development of Roadrunner Island.
Jennings, who worked on pedagogy for the program along with Ortiz, adds that in general Second Life is a great tool for experiential learning. “People can use the program to see the world through the eyes of someone who has a disability--for example, cataracts, hearing loss or of someone who is confined to a wheel chair.” He adds, “It does not replace classrooms or online courses. It’s a tool to be used to enhance learning environment.”
Others use it as a virtual immersion program. “You can visit an international café – where you invite native speakers to come. Where you go and sit down and talk,” says McNary. “You can even order translators.”
“It’s totally a volunteer enhancement instructional delivery method,” says Anderson, who notes there is no cost for the program for faculty, staff and students, but you do need to set up an account at www.secondlife.com.
