second life and ohio u

Relative to my earlier post and our meeting discussion about finding some statistics on how successful other institutions have been in using Second Life, I posted a request to the Second Life Educator’s mailing list asking for input from the hundreds of members of that community.

One response turned up some great information on Ohio U and what they’re doing. I was psyched to get this info because Ohio U really does have some significant time and money invested in SL and I was hoping to discuss SL with them.  Here’s the link to the info:

SL/Ohio U

What I find especially valuable from this site is the paragraph that discusses the future of Ohio U in SL. To quote:

“In a meeting with Ken Sampson, Associate Dean of Technology in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, Dr. Liu received additional support for SL. Sampson had not heard of SL before their meeting, but knew that Dr. Liu was on to something remarkable, “I immediately saw SL’s potential instructional value,” he says. Beyond that, Sampson recognized that 3D virtual worlds could be the future of computer interactions and wanted Ohio University to be an active participant along the way, “Our involvement in Second Life is an opportunity for OU to be on the leading edge of new technology,” he adds. Sampson’s support would be a vital component of the development of a virtual Stocker Center.

Bill Sams describes SL as “a laboratory for the social sciences.” He is encouraged by SL’s potential to deliver and create knowledge among people and cultures. His professional experience in SL at OU has a different focus– making money. He hopes to generate income for the university by reaching out to the corporate world and offering educational opportunities to the workforce. Sams believes that on a grand scale, SL has the potential to “merge the culture of this region to the technology of Silicon Valley.”

The learning community still meets on a regular basis to discuss and share ideas. The have been tremendously beneficial for the participants and the project. Thanks to two grants from the Ohio Learning Network (OLN), the informal learning community is now a formal learning community and participating members receive a stipend. This allows the group to meet more often and share more ideas. Each member of the learning community has an interpretation of how SL will benefit the university in the future, but all agree that SL has a potential to change the way we live and learn.”

You don’t say.