The Second Life Team’s task is to model an island in Second Life to serve as a representation of Michigan Tech and its surrounding community for Dr. Audrey Mayer of the Department of Social Sciences . This island will initially serve as the location for two different online/distance learning courses that Dr. Mayer will teach, and as a location for her online office hours and small group meetings.
In the longer term, the island can serve as Michigan Tech’s presence in Second Life, offering prospective students a unique view into Michigan Tech’s culture and natural surroundings. It may also be used by additional faculty and graduate students to expand Michigan Tech’s online and distance learning curriculum, and as an instructional tool for students to learn about programming and gaming, conducting interviews and other online research, as well as networking with communities beyond Michigan Tech. To that effect, the island and its facilities should provide academic and research functionality, inspired by the environmental and social heritage of the Keweenaw.
So far, the team has completed most of the representation of the Michigan Tech Campus which includes but isn’t limited to the Keweenaw bridge, all the classrooms, and a teleportation system. The objective for this semester is to finish the project entirely. The four main aspects that must be finished in order to meet that goal includes a replica of Mount Ripley, a gathering areas for students, an office area for faculty, and replicas of the Winter Carnival snow statues.