At East Carolina University, we have been exploring immersive  environments and their educational value. ECU began its Second Life  journey in the Fall of 2007 beginning with a 1/4 sim.

     

      Second  Life is an innovative approach to teaching with  multicultural exposure, the  exploration of methods for online learning  where faculty and student can  interact with expressions, share course  material, and create a persona all using  Web 2.0 technologies.

 

      We are proud to invite you to our internal campus.

About East Carolina University Second Life

East Carolina University, Greenville, NC is a doctoral university offering classes, meetings, and conferences in Second Life. ECU has been holding classes since 2007 in the virtual world realm.

The number of classes varies each semester, but we typically have five to ten classes on-going in Second Life, plus four Early College High School classes.

Why is ECU interested in Virtual Worlds?

A survey of Distance Education students prior to 2007  revealed that students felt they did not know the peers in their Distance  Education classes. One of the solutions to this problem was the usage of Second  Life, which allows students and professors to attend class as  "avatars". Within Second Life, professors can utilize various media  tools including presentation slides and videos. Second Life isn't limited to  just slides and videos. Second Life offers the capability for much more thanks  to its building and

scripting language tools.

One example of our work is an  Agricultural Safety  Simulation. At the Agricultural Safety Experience a participant can  learn about farm safety practices. The simulation includes a drivable equipment  which interacts with the avatar. If the avatar were to contact a moving part,  the effects are displayed on the users Heads Up Display.  By design, the simulation also takes into account  dehydration and overall health. Taking breaks and drinking water improves the  health of the participant.

What courses are offered in Second Life at ECU?

A number of courses in Second Life, and it varies with the semester. For a list of courses and events, and a bit on what each class has done in Second Life, see our Classes page.

What has been published about ECU's Virtual World experiences?

A number of faculty have written journals and articles about their experiences in Second Life. ECU has also been represented as numerous conferences as well. You can find an archive of many of these on our Publications page.