Virtual worlds, which type is right for your institution?

We were on the fence as to whether or not to select this program for a slot at the conference. With the corporate ties of the presenters, it could have turned into a sales pitch for their product or company. I'm glad we took the risk, as the presenter is very comprehensive - as well as candid about not having the answers - virtual worlds are currently all about questions. Pretty fast paced. Presentation is intended to generate thought and spark conversation, not answer questions.

Consider accessability, usability, how quickly can someone get a level of comfort with a very complex interface? Stability is key, and will depend in some part on the business model of & the investment in the platform. Can they scale out? Can you do what you want without continual "upsells?" Will the environment be around in 5 years? Is collaboration and integration even possible with outside systems or even other worlds? Can you export work out and retain it?

How do you evaluate and assess student work? Can you secure student evaluations effectively?

Fraud, exploitation, theft can be serious problems. Speaker doesn't mention Fiona Nah's paper, but would be very appropriate to cite here. How do you establish (and enforce) societal norms? Can you teach in an environment that contains advertising, commerce, adult themes and activities (sex, violence, war)? Does the equation change when K-12 students get involved?

How to accommodate intellectual property credit and protection (arguably, absolutely anything created in a virtual world can be IP)?

Everything (especially in higher-ed) still seems to be in a dabbling or getting feet wet mode, not really seeing anyone doing anything yet that can't be done in the real world. Two phases we need to talk about here, the first is to create or adopt an environment - then (even more difficult) figure out what to do with it and how to teach with it. Some of the appeal is simply that many students prefer to interact in a secondlife-type environment and will evaluate it more highly, even if all other factors and interactions are the same. Referred to a USC business class as an example.

Another interesting example is how some campuses are using virtual campus tours to give prospective families a better sense of whether they want to actually come and tour the campus physically. There was a lot more to the presentation, but it was fast-paced and interesting enough that I couldn't get that much noted.