Sloan-C Conference 2008

1. From Reality to Second Life®:
Presenting Student Research in a Virtual World
Patricia Edwards, Ph.D.
Mary Bold, Ph.D., CFLE
Catherine Dutton, M.A.
© 2008 Texas Woman’s University

2. The Challenge
How do we offer distance
education students the means
of participating in a
campus event?

3. The Solution
Provide an equivalent virtual
experience with as many of the
same functions as
possible.

4. The Context
TWU Student Creative Arts &
Research Symposium
2007- Virtual Posters
with Wikis
2008- Second Life

5. The Process
Identify
Staff
Determine
Platform
Regents
Presentation
Develop
Policies User
Support
Presenter
Support
Quality
Check
Community
Presentations
Develop
Space
Copyright
Compliance

6. The Event
Real Life meets a Second Life
“So, in a virtual
world, we don’t
have distance.”
“Additive rather
than distractive.”

7. The Debriefing
Presenters
“The experience exceeded my expectations!”
Feeling of accomplishment and excitement to share research.
Faculty
Plans & requests for
more uses of platform
Staff
Overall Success
Adjustments and changes
for future events
10
14 11
23
19
0
10
20
30
VP1 SOA1 VP2 SOA2 VP3
Session Attended
Real Life Attendees

8. The Future
Symposium Alumni Activities Teaching Student Research

9. Patricia Edwards, Ph.D.: pedwards@twu.edu
Mary Bold, Ph.D., CFLE: bold@marybold.com
Catherine Dutton, MA: cdutton@twu.edu
SL contact: Catherine Soderstrom
© 2008 Texas Woman’s University