Computing Expert Talks in Second Life

Second Life, a virtual world, has long been popular with professors and students. Now it seems to be catching on with college administrators, too. Daniel A. Reed, director of the Renaissance Computing Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, gave a talk recently in Second Life — as the avatar RENCI Richez– on the future of technology and the three-dimensional Internet. On his blog he discusses the experience: "Rich interaction mechanisms are an opportunity to lessen social barriers, allowing disparate groups to share experiences and collaborate," he writes. "I believe this is especially important as we face complex problems whose solution will require the combined expertise of technically and socially diverse teams."— Andrea L. Foster