Penn State Great Valley, other campuses recreate classroom experience in Second Life

A couple of years ago, Web-based learning consisted primarily of static material stored online and chat rooms where people could post information. Today, new online, virtual communities allow educational institutions to create virtual campuses, complete with visual renderings of their campus, professors, students, etc., that are truly the next best thing to actually being there. Communication can be done through typing chat, or through the use of specially designed microphone technology.

Penn State Great Valley graduate school, along with a couple of other campuses of the University -- including Penn State Harrisburg, Penn State Berks and University Park campus -- have recently created online learning communities in the alternate internet universe, Second Life, created in 2003 by San Francisco-based Linden Lab. They have purchased virtual islands on which to build their campuses, which are in various stages of construction.

A pair of Penn State Great Valley professors are using Second Life this fall to educate students. Peggy Daniels Lee, assistant professor of operations management, is using Second Life in her operations management course.
 
"For me, Second Life is another method of delivery. For example, rather than using ANGEL (the online Penn State course management system), we're using Second Life in the same way for class discussion, lectures, presentations, etc. It simulates a true classroom setting, and it's more enjoyable," she said. "I also have in-world office hours so that students can come to talk with me in a simulated face-to-face environment about their Second Life Projects as well as other class issues. In Second Life, you can buy and sell almost anything, so students can learn about operations issues such as inventory management, queuing, capacity management and resource allocation. This is an excellent place to do this because you can learn by trial and error without making a large initial investment."

In Second Life, individuals and corporations can set up low-cost businesses and buy and sell goods and services using the site's "Linden Dollars," much as they would outside of the virtual world. A U.S. dollar is equal to approximately 266 Linden Dollars.

Lee stressed that many companies are now using Second Life to recruit and train employees, to conduct sales presentations for customers, and much more, and that students will benefit from this added exposure at Penn State Great Valley.

"Our job is to marry theory with practice, and this is certainly a way to connect what we do in the classroom with what students are doing in the real world," she said.

Norita Ahmad, lecturer in information science, is using Second Life in her capstone course in information science.

"Students are exploring Second Life for possibilities to promote business, and we'll have class presentations in Second Life at the end of the semester," she said. "In addition to Second Life, I'm also using many other social technologies in this class to promote creative use of technologies in business."

In addition to the classrooms, the Penn State Great Valley Library will be recreated in Second Life to provide reference support services for these two courses, much as it would in the "real world." Alexia Hudson, reference and instructional librarian at Penn State Great Valley, was a leader in bringing Second Life to the campus.

"Our campus is along the technology corridor in suburban Philadelphia, and so I think it's only fitting that our campus be on the cutting edge in using this technology," she said. "Our students are working adults who often benefit from distance education opportunities, and we really think this will add something to our students' online learning experience."