October 16, 2008
Darwin's Famous Journey Is Recreated in Second Life
The ways in which people celebrate the life and work of Charles Darwin are evolving.
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, the University of Cincinnati has recreated the Galapagos Islands, where Darwin conducted some of his famous research, in Second Life. The project is part of the university’s 2009 Darwin Sesquicentennial Celebration.
By January 2009, all avatars will be able to retrace Darwin’s steps — from his 1832 journey to South America aboard the Beagle to his tours of the islands — with the help of a wind-surfing tour guide. Archived audio and video clips, as well as live events, will be available in the Darwin Celebration Theater and Gallery.
An undergraduate communications and technology class is creating kiosks in Second Life and compiling information about Darwin’s journey and findings. Students who take two field trips to the Galapagos next year will bring back images and video that will be added to the tour, according to Chris M. Collins, project manager for the Second Life Project at the university. Ms. Collins wrote about the project with Ronald M. Millard, a professor of pharmacology and cell biophysics and chairman of the celebration’s program and planning committee, for EDUCAUSE Review.
Ms. Collins said the site could be an effective learning tool for college students and would teach them things they “can’t get from reading a textbook.” —David DeBolt
Posted on Thursday October 16, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
Commenting is closed for this article.
Previous: Colleges Try Out New Kinds of 'Dumb' Terminal Computers
Next: A Green Supercomputer Center Opens at U. of California at San Diego
Second Life???? OMG, I haven’t heard that mentioned in months. Does it still exist? I don’t know anyone who plays with that. Who are they? Where do they live? Are they like those closeted people who have weird fetishes—-you know like furries and rubber diaper enthusiasts? The average guy next door who you’d never expect gets his jollies by dressing up like a chipmunk?
— Dee Dee Pontiac Oct 17, 12:19 PM #
Not too long ago I attended a presentation at the University of Houston. This professor was talking about the way he teaches music using Second Life platform. It sounds interesting to me.
— Margarita Oct 17, 07:40 PM #
hey DD – time to crawl out from under your rock for more then 2 min!
— Gary Oct 20, 10:10 AM #
I didn’t know about avatars and Second Life until my sister-in-law, who often dresses in chipmunk suites, told me about it. She apparently paid real money to live in a virtual world in which she went on cruises, met other avatars, and even rode a jet ski. Although I personally don’t see any value in Second Life as entertainment, I imagine it could be useful as an instrument to deliver training to young visual learners or as therapy to people like my poor sister-in-law, under close psychiatric supervision.
— Jack Mac Oct 20, 11:06 AM #
Many universities worldwide have built virtual campuses and are offering courses in Second Life. These courses are live (synchronous) and use voice via a headset/microphone. Princeton University, Ball State, University of New Orleans, Vassar, University of Wisconsin, University of Hamburg, and the University of Innsbruck are just a few universities who have embraced this new technology. Students in SL classes can visit 3-D replications of simulated interactive environments (i.e. Red Square in Moscow, Chichen Itza in Mexico, the Alhambra Palace in Spain, and the French Quarter in New Orleans, just to name a few).
— Educator Oct 20, 11:51 AM #
It’s also a great place to network with people sharing similar interests—for instance, writing and publishing. Fantasy author Michael A. Stackpole runs an entire sim dedicated to writing and podcasting, and helping folks aspiring in both fields. SL is definitely more than just fetishes and entertainment—that’s really just the fringe that you find in any group.
— Wordsmith Oct 20, 03:22 PM #
SecondLife is a regular social network, but SQUARED. Excellent place to make new friends, but you run the risk of losing old real life friends. As more people decide to spent their precious time in the company of people with similar views, more polarized the society becomes. That’s how I see it
— Vainqueur Pontchartrain Oct 23, 01:55 PM #