RIT's Island in Second Life Officially Opens
The virtual world of Second Life has another island in its empire — RIT Island. For more than a year, RIT students in the Online Learning department have worked on building the RIT island, and it is now officially open.
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On Dec. 10, RIT Provost Dr. Jeremy Haefner cut the virtual ribbon during a 2-hour exhibition in RIT's student union lobby. RIT faculty, staff and students had a chance to discover the projects happening on the island, with more than 70 avatars gathering together at the height of the event.
The RIT island includes virtual representation of some campus buildings, meeting areas and science experiments with real-world applications. As a virtual world, Second Life can do what reality can't - create interactive models, objects and areas that allow students to experiment and experience situations in a virtual manner.
Some RIT faculty currently have teaching experiments underway for their classes, including professor Michael Floeser who has a virtual representation of a client/server chat program which helps his Java programming students visualize the complexity of building this type of application.
Professor Tim Landschoot, in the College of Engineering, uses a tensile tester in Second Life — a machine that tests the strength of various metals and alloys. In real life, it is a large and expensive machine. However in Second Life, students can use the virtual tensile tester, with no risk to their safety, and at no cost.
In the last couple of years, higher education institutions varying from Harvard, Princeton and MIT to MCC have experimented with Second Life to create teaching and learning experiences for credit.
Online Learning at RIT will continue to partner with faculty on teaching projects that will be developed on the island. Interested faculty can apply by filling out this application. Staff and student groups who would like to have a presence on RIT island are also welcome to contact Katie McDonald for information.
There are several departments at RIT with a virtual presence on the island. These include Wallace Library (with a virtual Java Wally's), the Office of Part-Time and Graduate Enrollment and the Office of Co-op and Career Services. Online Learning has a gift shop with free virtual RIT merchandise.
Visit the RIT Second Life Island website for additional information.
Click here to watch a news segment on RIT's Second Life island.