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ISTE Island

Jeff Hiles — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:17:23 +0000

On ISTE Island in Second Life, the International Society for Technology in Education hosts a Tuesday evening speaker series and Thursday evening Educator Socials. They have also provided a venue for a number of other activities, such as the online portion of the educators tracks for the Second Life Community Convention and for the National Educational Computing Conference.

ISTE also has a Second Life group you can join and an email list for announcements concerning educators in Second Life.

NMC Campus

Jeff Hiles — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 15:20:24 +0000

Soon after the New Media Consortium (NMC) Campus opened in 2006, it became a hub of activity for educators in Second Life, hosting numerous seminars, discussions and exhibits.

The NMC rapidly added more islands to the archipelago, including several on which they rent spots to educators who want G-rated space amidst other educators. The New Media Consortium includes nearly 200 colleges, universities, museums, corporations, and other learning-focused organizations dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies.

You may want to avoid Second Life’s usually hectic orientation areas and enter Second Life directly at NMC Orientation island, a good place for educators and students to get started. To do that, create your Second Life account at the NMC’s Web site instead of at the Second Life site.

NMC Campus Observer (blog for news and events)
NMC Campus Wiki
Seriously Engaging, a video about the NMC Campus. (12.4MB QuickTime file)
Location: NMC Campus (128,225,42) Important: You must join the “NMC Guests” group before you can visit the NMC Campus. Just click your Search button and, on the Groups tab, search on NMC. Select the group “NMC Guests” and click Join.

Info Island

Jeff Hiles — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 15:11:36 +0000

A team of librarians and other volunteers from around the globe have grown Info Island from a few buildings in early 2006 to a cluster of islands bustling with activities that explore roles libraries and librarians may play in 3D virtual worlds. Educators will particularly like the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Library on the main island. It houses a collection of scripts and other tools for teaching in Second Life. Be sure to explore the presentation tool demonstrations on the nearby plaza.

Info Island and the surround islands also host nonprofit organizations, a medical library, a science center, and more. A number of universities have claimed spots on Eduisland. Info Island was initiated by the Illinois-based Alliance Library System. You can read the latest news from Info Island on its Web site and in a weekly column in the Metaverse Messenger.

International Spaceflight Museum

Jeff Hiles — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 14:29:11 +0000

Ride a Titan II rocket into low earth orbit. Stroll among towering replicates of the world’s major rockets. Watch live video from NASA. See how the planets were aligned the day you were born. The International Spaceflight Museum hosts exhibits and events about real-world spacecraft, rockets, and space travel. The museum is located on the island sim Spaceport Alpha, which has become the center of a growing archipelago of science-related islands, or “SciLands.”

Exploratorium (Splo and Planetarium)

Jeff Hiles — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 14:19:03 +0000

The Exploratorium, San Francisco’s “museum of science, art and human perception,” has created interactive science exhibits in several Second Life locations. Splo Island is the largest of these, with exhibits spread over the whole PG-rated island. A smaller version of the Splo and a planetarium reside at mature-rated Midnight City.

Splo Island (PG sim), Location: SploLand (182,75,25)
Splo in Midnight City (mature-rated sim), Location: Midnight City (224,88,27)
Planetarium in Midnight City, Location: Midnight City (97,48,27)

Social Simulation Research Lab

Jeff Hiles — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 10:10:25 +0000

If you need to do a literature review of articles related to the social aspects of virtual worlds, the Social Simulation Research Lab is a good place to start. Each book on the shelves links to an article or Web site.

According to the site’s notecard, “The Social Simulation Research Lab is a public hub of cyber-research resources in Second Life. The Lab’s library brings together over 150 publications on the social science of internet research, computer-mediated communication and online studies, plus many links to researchers’ homepages, other online resources and online cyber-research journals.”

Social Sim blog
Location: Hyperborea (218,90,24)

Virtual Morocco

Jeff Hiles — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 07:25:12 +0000

The Casablanca region captures the essence of Morocco with an outdoor market, mosque, gardens, music and other details. Students from Johnson & Wales University traveled to the real-life Morocco, then entered Second Life to build a representation of what they had seen abroad. You may don a red “Info Fez” that triggers chat messages explaining what you see as you explore the island.

Immersion in Virtual Morocco, story from the NMC Campus Observer
Location: Casablanca (134, 86, 26)

English Village

Jeff Hiles — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 07:23:39 +0000

Teaching English as a second language, instructors at the English Village employ what they call “holoteaching,” using classrooms where you can completely change scenes with the touch of a button, like the holodeck in the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The village’s mission is…

To create a positive environment for English teachers, researchers, and students.
To explore English language learning and pioneer new ways of teaching and learning, in Second Life, and real life.
To develop a community where we can collaborate and help each other in our pioneering efforts!
To have fun, and expand the ESL community!
To help people learn English!

For more information on the English Village, see its Web site or contact Fire Centaur.

Languages (other than English)

Jeff Hiles — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 07:19:12 +0000

There are many regions in Second Life that cater to people who speak languages other than English. These make excellent places for language students to practice their skills with native speakers. Here is a partial list of non-English-speaking regions. If you know of others, please leave a note in the comments or email me and I’ll add them to the list.

The Avatar Languages web site has a more up-to-date list of language regions. The list below is just for example and some sites may no longer exist.

Chinese: China, China (113, 180, 33)
Danish: Wonderful Denmark, Wonderful Denmark (109, 133, 22)
Dutch: Virtual Holland, Our Virtual Holland (161, 162, 22)
French: Gaia, Gaia (141, 124, 27)
French: New Paris, New Paris (125, 113, 23)
French: Paris 1900, Paris 1900 (10,170,16)
French: Coopération Française, area 51 (142, 107, 27)
German: Biergarten, Mann (167, 255, 24)
Italian: Made In Italy, Songnisan (67, 137, 83)
Italian: Parioli, Parioli (60, 115, 42)
Italian: SandBox Italiana, INDIRE (214, 132, 22)
Italian/Sicilian: Nouva Sicilia 2, Nouva Sicilia 2 (183,179,24)
Japanese: Arashi Information Center, Baba (95,76,22)
Japanese: Japanese Business SIM, Metabirds (133, 35, 30)
Japanese: MagSL Tokyo Japan, Baba (118,153,22)
Japanese: Nagaya (Little Kyoto), Juho (89,165,63)
Japanese: Togenkyo, Togenkyo (155, 127, 21)
Portuguese: Boteco Brasil, Keiss (227, 46, 40)
Portuguese: Brazuk, Gomorra (28, 132, 22)
Portuguese: Central do Brasil, Mugunghwa (229, 107, 43)
Spanish: Cervantes, Cervantes (101, 163, 21)
Spanish: Colombiamor, Colombiamor (88,235,26)
Spanish: Spain, Spain (69, 136, 33)
Spanish: secondlifespain.com, Nangrim (185, 245, 75)

Also see the SLObserver, a French-language blog about Second Life.