Faculty Highlight Teaching Opportunities at Lehigh Island Grand Opening

On October 22, Lehigh faculty, students, and staff marked the Grand Opening of Lehigh Island in Second Life by participating in a variety of first-life and in-world events. Second Life is a virtual world that offers new options for innovation in teaching and learning as well as many other features not related to the academic enterprise.

Director of Faculty Development Greg Reihman, who is directing Lehigh's Second Life project, offered attendees some background about the Island. "When we first acquired the virtual property in Spring 2008, we had only a glimmer of what it might become. We built a virtual UC, an amphitheater and some relaxing beaches.

When we first unveiled the island in November 2008, we focused on encouraging people to think about the possibilities of this virtual university environment. Since then, we've been working with a number of folks who have taken the plunge. As a result, today, for the Grand Opening, there's a great deal to see and do on the island."

Johanna Brams, instructional technology consultant at the IMRC in Maginnes Hall, and her team of student designers and programmers have been busy building areas of the island for specific faculty, giving tours and helping users learn how to build and navigate the terrain. She and history graduate student Jeff Remling offered a tour of the island as faculty members from six different departments explained some of the ways they are using the island.

Roger Nagel (CSE) explained how he has students use the island to explore new forms of business entrepreneurship and collaboration. Ian Birky discussed his plans for the virtual Johnson Hall, where students unwilling to seek out a face-to-face meeting can meet with counselors. Deborah Field (Music) discussed her hopes for using the virtual Concert Hall for students to practice performances. Nik Nikolov (Art and Architecture) spoke about the possibilities for architecture students.

Dan Lopresti (CSE) explained his plans for students in his first-year seminar to explore how this new environment is shaping how we view and interact with computers. Greg Reihman discussed how he uses the Discussion Classroom for conversations with students studying philosophy and technology. And Natalie Foster spoke about how she uses the Chemistry Peninsula to build chemical models where student can experience the three-dimensionality of molecular compounds.

In the afternoon, events moved online and in-world. Participants joined in for a "Lehigh Island Murder Mystery" developed by Jeff Remling as a way for newcomers to find their way around the island. Greg Reihman hosted a discussion in the Lehigh Island Discussion Classroom on "Teaching in Second Life”. And Berisford Boothe (Art and Architecture) offered a guided tour of some of his art currently on display in the Art Tower.

To learn more or find out about upcoming events, visit https://sites.google.com/a/lehigh.edu/secondlife 

Checklist: Things to do on the Lehigh Island:

• Build something in the Sandbox

• Meet with a friend in the UC Cafe

• View works of art by Berrisford Boothe (Art & Architecture) in the Art Tower

• Attend a lecture in the Amphitheater

• Join in a discussion in the Discussion Classroom

• Hear live music in the Concert Hall

• Tour the virtual Iacocca Hall, Johnson Hall, and Fritz Lab.

--Greg Reihman

 

Article posted November 18, 2009

 

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