University of Sussex launches Second Life campus

The University of Sussex has launched an online campus on the website Second Life.

The 3D internet 'island', developed by Sussex graduate members of the University's web team, has been designed to look like the real University of Sussex campus and will be used by the university for teaching and marketing.

Every user (called a resident) creates a virtual version of themselves (called an avatar) in Second Life, which they can transport to different locations, such as the Sussex campus.

Once they've arrived, they can literally fly around the University's main square to visit the library, attend online seminars, call into the Students' Union, the Meeting House or just admire the campus views.
Staff and students have been trying out the virtual campus to test its potential, and initial responses have been very positive.

Developers see the campus as a new platform for developing teaching, learning and communication tools that encourage interaction and collaboration between users. Potential uses for the virtual campus, still in its developmental stages, include teaching, recruitment, enhancing the University's online presence and a means of showcasing student work.

Dr Judith Good, a Senior Lecturer in the department of Informatics at Sussex, is currently teaching a course where students are creating educational experiences in Second Life for other institutions, such as FE colleges. She says: "We are still exploring the potential usefulness of Second Life for teaching and learning, but we really wanted to push the boundaries with this project and get our students doing something exciting and innovative. It's great that these projects might then find a home on the Sussex virtual campus."

www.sussex.ac.uk