UNLVirtual
Spring 2011 Vol. 1 Issue 2
UNIVERSAL NEWSLETTER FOR VIRTUAL & DIGITAL MEDIA
this issue Virtual Education
Sistine Chapel Vassar College in Second Life
A college campus that does not exist, a professor who flies to
Second Life…
class, an online course
By Zeenath Haniff
in which students’ architectural constructions are possible. This is virtual education. Prominent universities in the U.S., Europe and Asia have already embraced this radical new approach to higher education.
It is not as ominous as it sounds. Since its creation in 2003 by Philip Rosedale and Linden Lab out of San Francisco, Second Life (SL) has become a popular Internet-based visual social network within a 3D virtual reality environment, also known as a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE). Its global success has drawn attention from business corporations and educators to its virtually endless possibilities.
Virtual Education P.1 CNN iReporting P.2
Users are called Residents, more commonly known in smaller circles as “Lifers”, who create avatars to represent themselves in the virtual environment. The added abilities to fly and build objects from simple geometric shapes enhance the virtual world’s appeal as Lifers recreate famous landmarks, such as Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, resurrect historical monuments, or Second Life… Pg. 2
A virtual campus allows educators to:
Linden Lab’s New CEO
By Zeenath Haniff
cut costs of maintaining a physical building,
use customized, interactive tools to communicate course material,
allow students worldwide to attend simply by
Linden Lab, the developer of Second Life, would undergo a major change on December 23, 2010. Rod Humble, the newly announced CEO, would step in mid-January 2011 from his former post as Executive Vice President of major game developer Electronic Arts, most well known for online sensation The Sims. Having spent twenty years in the
game development industry, Humble is able to offer expertise on creative community-based games. In 2009, Humble was voted #2 on the annual list of “Hot 100 Game Developers” in Edge gaming magazine. Humble continues to develop art games, including The Marriage, Stars Over Half Moon Bay, and Last Thoughts of the Auroch.
going online. UNLV College of Urban Affairs . Virtual & Digital Media . | Pg. 1
CNN iReport Hub
The Life of a CNN iReporter
Thoughts or Questions? Feel free to share your virtual or digital experiences and research findings. Need to find out more about virtual reality or e-newspapers? Ask us! Submit articles and questions to the Virtual & Digital Media office via email: haniffz@ unlv.nevada.edu.
Journalism has taken virtual form in Second Life The difference between two distinct types of SL journalism is how and what journalistic pieces report. Virtual journalists are “inworld” avatars reporting on other avatars and virtual events from within SL, then
publishing findings on online blogs or newspapers whereas traditional journalists report on real world presence in the virtual world and post news on external websites. CNN boasts both types of journalists:
STAFF iREPORTER CNN has permanent staff members who report “vetted” stories, which are approved by a CNN editor, about 3D virtual environments or its events and activities called iReporting. CITIZEN iREPORTER “Lifers” who act as citizen journalists within SL are invited to share their in-world stories, snapshot photographs, and Machinima videos.
iReporter
Contact Info UNLV College of Urban Affairs Virtual & Digital Media 4505 Maryland Pkwy Box 455007 Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-5007 Lawrence Mullen, Ph.D. Director Phone: 702-895-4491 Email: lawrence.mullen@ unlv.edu Zeenath Haniff Research Assistant Phone 702-895-0035 Email: haniffz@ unlv.nevada.edu
SUPERSTAR iREPORTER CNN iReport rates its members’ stories, feedback and popularity to determine the top 20 percent each week.
One of CNN’s most recognized iReporters is Janey Bracken. The recent increase of tuition fees by the UK government ignited student protests in Central London as well as Second Life’s Virtual Hyde Park. See Janey Bracken’s full story “Students use SL to display anger over tuition fees” at http://ireport.cnn.com.
Virtual Hyde Park in SL
Second Life… cont. pg. 1
create entirely new fantastical worlds in graphic 3D. All objects within Second Life including buildings, landscape, clothing, etc., are entirely user-generated content – designed, created and even sold by Lifers for Linden dollars, the virtual currency in SL that mimics the changing currency climate of U.S. dollars. Users create their own virtual world as well as economy. So explore Second Life…where there are no bounds: http://secondlife.com/.
UNLV College of Urban Affairs . Virtual & Digital Media . | Pg. 2