by Travis Johnson
MSCSA Vice President & Lake Superior College Online Student

Having taken advantage of the opportunity for flexibility through online learning in the past few years, I’ve begun to wonder what else the Minnesota State College and University (MnSCU) system does online to connect with its students. Last year, I stumbled across a project that the system undertook involving Second Life. Haven’t heard of Second Life? Well, at the time, I vaguely recalled that it is a virtual world where users can create a “second life” of themselves, somewhat similar to the PC game “The Sims” but interactive. When it was explained to me, it seemed that Second Life could be used for a variety of reasons, such as playing out one’s fantasy life, connecting online for virtual meeting spaces to substitute physical meetings, or, more in line with MnSCU’s misson, educating society. Other colleges around the country have done the same, initially purchasing virtual land and building mock versions of their physical campuses.

I decided recently to dig further into MnSCU’s Second Life endeavor to see what the system has been up to. In Second Life, you create an account and then download the software required for the game. After completing this simple task, you can begin venturing into the virtual world and interacting with other “Second Lifers.” Hesitant to download the software for the game, I convinced myself to do so after I found out what my username was going to be. Once you enter in your first name, the program generates a list of compatible last names. I thought this was a bit odd, but then I remembered that I wouldn’t actually be me in this other world, so I picked the one I found most fitting for my project. I selected the name Trav Veepers and got going with the world of virtual interaction.

The first step in Second Life is visiting what is called Help Island, where you learn the controls of the game and the basic rules of having an avatar. There are several small, but important guidelines that are established for this virtual world, to keep things decent and respectful. Next, I learned I could edit my avatar so I didn’t look like the pre-selected model. I didn’t change too much, because I only planned on using the program temporarily to explore MnSCU’s project, and I didn’t want to get too carried away. I selected a different shirt and away I went.
I can fly. That was the first neat thing I liked about Second Life. Instead of just remaining on the ground walking, with the simple touch of a key, I was in the air zooming around. After several minutes of pretending to be a super hero, I proceeded with my project. To travel to the islands available in the virtual world, I had the option of walking, flying, or better yet, teleporting to them with a simple search of the island database. I typed in “Minnesota State College” and searched the results, which included a couple of options for “MNSCU Island,” and

“MSU Moorhead [Minnesota State University Moorhead].” Off to MnSCU Island I teleported.
Before I arrived at MnSCU Island, I was expecting to see a replica of the main offices in St. Paul and perhaps to run into some of the office’s staff. On the other hand, I also was expecting to be able to check out different campuses, but I thought this expectation might be too much for just the main system office to coordinate. I landed instead at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in Roseville, MN, where MnSCU held booths this past year. I walked around some and found campus logos on signs in the grass surrounding a pavilion-looking structure. Next, I found what appeared to have been a competitive drill set up that was composed of a tire-run course, a walking plank, hurdles, and a climbing wall. After several tries, I finally completed it successfully, and applause came out of nowhere. Virtually exhausted, I settled myself into a chair at an outdoor auditorium, which looks as though it was meant for presenting to larger groups.

My venture onto MnSCU Island wasn’t quite what I had anticipated. Realizing this area was likely set up specifically for the State Fair, I selected the other “MNSCU Island” in the search bin. I was teleported to an island that consisted of some nice landscape and fifteen almost identical buildings set up as classrooms, lecture halls, and conference rooms. I really liked this concept, because it meant that students could use these spaces to “attend” classes virtually as though they were physically with the group. For example, the lecture spaces were set up with a podium in front, a projector and screen, and seating for twenty. This idea brought my view of online learning to a whole new level, and was excited about the potential for learning this way. But then virtual reality struck and I noticed an eerie lack of avatars or other “people” on MnSCU Island. It seemed to be totally abandoned.

Not ready to give up yet, I next teleported to MSU-Moorhead’s virtual island. When I landed, I was very impressed with the structure before me. As I had originally expected, a virtual Moorhead campus sprawled out over the island. I walked around and toured some of the buildings, which replicated the actual buildings quite nicely. A teleporting block was also available, so I could teleport to any part of the campus instead of having to wander and find a particular building. The buildings all contained some form of furniture and some artwork, along with spaces for offices. Mostly, though, after zooming around the campus quite a bit, I was let down again. Another empty island–I didn’t’ see a single person on the island during my visit.
Determined still to learn why a system of campuses would invest resources in such a program, I continued to explore Second Life by searching other colleges around the country. I received an expansive list of colleges that had decided to use Second Life, and I chose to visit Saint Leo University based in Saint Leo, Florida. When I landed on the island, I was immediately in front of a help desk with a virtual staff person ready to assist me. I asked what the intent of the virtual college was for and was told that it was meant to serve as a medium for college students, faculty, and staff to work together in an online setting. Students are given the opportunity to visit one-on-one with their instructors, use campus services online, and even use dorm space at the virtual residence hall.

As I continued to explore Saint Leo University in Second Life, I was more and more impressed by their use of Second Life. Ideally, if I were to “attend” classes this way, I would hope for a similar experience. It begs the question for me, however: After seeing an academic institution that has more fully developed its Second Life venture, is this a direction that MnSCU plans on going, or will the project fall off the proverbial island?

I had the chance to speak with a staff person at MnSCU during this project, and he provided some good insight for me. Because Second Life can become costly to use, MnSCU at this time is only using it for experimental purposes to gauge whether there is faculty interest in using the program for educating students. A couple thousand dollars was spent initially to purchase and assemble the buildings on MnSCU Island as well as pay for maintaining ownership of the land. Also, an instructor from Central Lakes is currently receiving release time to serve as a liaison with other interested faculty and assist them with getting started.

MnSCU’s long-term goal for its Second Life project is to utilize a program where online students can meet interactively instead of just through discussion forums. In a time when technology is literally becoming life, MnSCU believes that instruction through Second Life provides a whole new learning dynamic for students. Students taking language courses, for example, could have the opportunity to meet with natives of the language they are learning, understand dialects better through chatting, and become completely immersed into another’s virtual culture. Bringing real-time teaching and learning to online students is a concept that MnSCU would like to capture, and Second Life is its starting point.

During the brief overview of the project, I was sure to ask questions about the resources being used to operate Second Life. MnSCU funds the use of its island and any instructional resources that would be necessary for faculty to use. However, in a case like MSU-Moorhead’s, individual campuses that wish to create a virtual campus must use their own budgets. Glad about that notion, I finished up my interview with the MnSCU staff person, who assured me that the project is in its very early stages of development and has intent of becoming similar to other college’s virtual campuses, like Saint Leo University. Time will tell whether the system is ready to grasp the project or delete it from its servers.