Higher Education in Virtual Worlds:Teaching and Learning in Second Life

“A timely book on the use and potential use of virtual worlds in education that is both well-balanced and always insightful…by combining theoretical perspectives with practical case studies, this book offers educators the opportunity to understand both the pitfalls and potential of virtual worlds”.  Michael Thomas, Editor, International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments

“This book provides a wide range of valuable insights and suggestions for both novice and experienced users new immersive environments. I highly recommend it!” Robin Teigland, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden

As we enter the second decade of the 21st Century, educators are faced with ever-increasing challenges in their profession – how can students be reached across distance and time? How can the costs of Higher Education be reduced? How can both younger and older generations be attracted and motivated to learn, when all knowledge seems to be available at the touch of a button?

This book provides a forum for discussing these and other issues, focusing on the use of Second Life – a free, readily-accessible virtual world which is increasingly being used for both formal and informal learning. Second Life provides a platform where people can meet and collaborate, teach and learn, play roles and live through experiences. For those who have already experimented with Second Life, there are case studies and ideas for implementing effective learning experiences. For readers who have not yet entered virtual reality, there are suggestions for overcoming the potential barriers and joining the community of ‘new frontier educators’.

Higher Education in Second Life is the first publication to be targeted at educators and researchers wishing to use virtual environments in their teaching practice and it provides practical advice, suggestions and examples specifically for educators in higher education. It has a broad appeal to educators from a wide range of disciplines, from the academic community, to training and development managers, and companies with corporate universities looking to reduce their costs through the use of technology and distance learning.

Download your free introductory chapter here

As an additional feature to the book a series of Higher Education Seminars in Second Life (HESSL) are being hosted by Jan Kingsley and Charles Wankel and chaired by various contributing authors.

All the sessions will be held at the following location within Second Life;

http://slurl.com/secondlife/EduNation%20II/40/30/21

The time table for the sessions can be found below;

Higher Education Seminars in Second Life (HESSL)

Draft Schedule